The TwinsThatLived
by melclem
Summary: Harry and his younger twin Tom defeat Voldemort as babies. Harry is very protective of Tom. Powerful Harry. Starts at the very beginning.
1. Chapter 1

**The Twins-That-Lived**

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Harry Potter world. Assume that that won't change throughout the story so I don't have to write this for every chapter.

Summary: Harry and his younger twin Tom defeat Voldemort. Harry is very protective of Tom. Powerful Harry.

* * *

Chapter 1: Prologue

The wash of magic was felt throughout the earth. The changes left in its wake went unnoticed. Most Muggles wrote it off as a truck outside or possibly a small earthquake, but the witches, wizards, and assorted sentient magical beings knew what it was. Now they could only wait to see if it brought good news, or great sadness.

At the epicenter of this wave of magic, confusion was the primary feeling. Harry James Potter wasn't sure what had happened. His mother lay crumbled on the floor in front of his crib, and there was a smudge of ash where he could have sworn a man with a huge snake used to be.

Hearing a cry to his left, Harry looked over and saw his brother, Tom Evan Potter. He crawled over and wrapped his younger twin up in a hug. Harry was sure of one thing. He had to protect Tom. Always, no matter what.

* * *

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Order of Merlin First Class, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confederation of Wizards, stood waiting with Minerva McGonagall on Privet Drive in Little Whinging, Surrey. A sudden loud roar filled the air as a dark shape dropped out of the sky and landed with a thump on the ground.

Rubeus Hagrid swung his massive body off the flying motorcycle. "Evenin' Professors! I got the boys here, got them out 'afore the Muggles could show up. Young Sirius was there, loaned me the bike to get them here quick and safe."

Dumbledore momentarily hesitated as he walked toward Hagrid. Why would Hagrid have two boys? In a moment the thought passed. Everyone knew the Potters had twins. "Excellent work, Hagrid. And right on time, too."

"Albus, are you sure about this? These people, I can't even describe how horrible they are. The son is a spoiled brat, I heard him screaming at his mother from all the way down the block! Everyone in our world will know these boys," McGonagall interjected.

"This family is the only living relation these boys have. They will be safer here than anywhere else in the world. They will be able have a normal childhood, and their family will explain everything to them when they are old enough to understand," Dumbledore took the boys from Hagrid and looked down at them. Harry and Tom peered up with their mismatched eyes; both boys had one emerald green eye and one sapphire blue eye. Dumbledore's eyes travelled up and found the twin lightning bolt scars the twins had on their foreheads. "They will bear those scars forever, the mark left by the Killing Curse."

Dumbledore stepped up the path to the front door of #4 Privet Drive and placed the boys on the porch, murmuring a charm to keep them from rolling off by accident. He attached a letter to the blanket, and with a final pat on their jet black heads walked back to McGonagall and Hagrid.

"Well, I would say that it is time for us to join one of the numerous parties taking place. Minerva, Hagrid, how about a drink at the Leaky Cauldron?"

"Well I might be along a little later, Professor. I gotta get this bike back where it belongs first," Hagrid replied.

"I should be getting back to the school, Albus. Someone has to maintain order there," McGonagall acerbically stated.

Dumbledore watched as Hagrid kicked the bike to life and roared up into the sky, before McGonagall spun on the spot and disappeared. Looking back at the twins on the stoop, Dumbledore whispered "Good luck boys. I'll see you at school." With an almost silent pop, Dumbledore disappeared.

All around the country, wizards and witches meeting in secret cheered and toasted Harry and Tom Potter, the Twins-That-Lived.

* * *

A/N: This is the first thing I've written in a really long time, any constructive criticism will be very much appreciated. I will definitely try to respond to any and all reviews I get. I hope you enjoy it-


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: A Trip to the Zoo

Ten years later, the house at #4 Privet Drive had hardly changed at all. As the sun swept over the street, Harry Potter began to wake up. Opening his mismatched eyes, he automatically checked over his brother Tom. Seeing nothing awry, Harry unfolded his body from the lotus position that he habitually slept in so Tom could stretch out more on the tiny cot they shared in the cupboard under the stairs. He yawned and ruffled his unruly, shoulder-length black hair. Opening the small door, Harry stepped into the front hall to fully stretch out. Harry had shot upwards in the past 2 years, so he now stood at 5'6", a full foot taller than his twin, and had a slightly emaciated looking frame and sunken cheeks. His nose had the distinctive look of one that has been broken at least twice. He had a nice tan from doing all the gardening and other outside chores. Stretching one leanly muscled arm back into the cupboard, Harry snatched up some clothes before closing the door so that Tom could sleep longer. He quickly used the washroom and changed. Dudley's cast-off clothing looked ridiculous on Harry, being both too big and too short. Tossing his night clothes back into the cupboard, Harry went into the kitchen. As long as Harry had breakfast ready for the Dursleys, Aunt Petunia would let Tom sleep.

Unfortunately, Tom's sleep was destined to be interrupted today. Dudley Dursley never let anyone sleep in on his birthday. He thundered down the stairs like a herd of rhinoceros, insuring that Tom was awake.

By the time Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and Dudley entered the kitchen, Harry had platters of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, hot cakes, porridge, and muffins set out on the counter with plates for them to fill and try to fit onto the table with all of Dudley's presents. He made as much food as he possibly could so that there might be more leftovers for Tom and him. Only once had Harry tried hiding some of the food he cooked, on the twins fourth birthday. That was the first time Uncle Vernon broke a bone while punishing him. Unfortunately, Dudley knew that the twins got any leftovers and so ate as much as he possibly could, with the end result being that he was almost as wide as he was tall.

As Dudley shoveled food down his gullet, he ripped open his presents, including a computer, a second television, a racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR. As he was opening up a gold wristwatch, Aunt Petunia came back from talking on the phone.

"Bad news, Vernon. Arabella broke her leg tripping over one of her cats, she can't take the brats. Now what are we going to do?"

"We could call Marge."

"Don't be ridiculous, Vernon, she hates them."

"Mummy, they're going to ruin my birthday!" Dudley wailed with fake tears filling his eyes.

"Don't worry my Duddikins, those nasty boys won't be allowed to ruin your birthday. I won't let them!" Aunt Petunia assured him, flinging her arms around him as far as she could.

**"Harry, what's going on?"** Tom questioned.

**"Hang on a sec, Tom, I'll be right there,"** Harry answered.

Harry and Tom had discovered this ability to communicate telepathically when they were six. One day after school, Tom hid in the cupboard crying and wouldn't let Harry in. In desperation Harry instinctually "threw" his mind towards his twin, and surprisingly, Tom answered. The shock of the communication brought Tom out, and they spent the next week experimenting with the limits of their telepathy. They found out that they could communicate no matter how far apart they were, and actually had to work out how to block their thoughts. Once they discovered this ability, they had a hard time turning it off. Harry also found out that the reason Tom was crying was because some kids at school were teasing him about his ill-fitting clothes. That night Harry took needle and thread from his Aunt Petunia's sewing kit and spent the night trying to alter Tom's clothes to fit better. He fell asleep amongst the clothing and sewing supplies, disappointed that he wasn't able to figure out how to fix them. Yet somehow, when he woke up to his Aunt Petunia's screeching, the clothes were all perfectly fitted for Tom. Uncle Vernon broke Harry's right arm during his punishment for stealing the needle and thread and his 'ingratitude' for the clothes the twins were given. On the plus side, Harry became ambidextrous.

When it was decided that the twins would have to come along to the zoo, Harry went to tell Tom. Tom was waiting in the cupboard for Harry. With his scant 4'6" height, Tom was small for his age, but thanks to Harry's efforts to give Tom enough food-to his own detriment-Tom had a good weight for his height. Though he had black hair like Harry, his only came down to the bottoms of his ears, and he worked hard to make it as unruly as his brother's. His eyes were the same as Harry's, with the left one sapphire blue and the right one emerald green. They stood out starkly against his pale skin, and he lacked his twin's musculature since Harry did all the more strenuous chores.

Harry folded himself down to sit next to Tom on their cot. "It looks like we get a little treat Tom. Mrs. Figg broke her leg and can't take us today. There is no other option; we get to go to the zoo today."

Tom broke into a grin. "That's great Harry! I've always wanted to go to the zoo!"

A dark shadow eclipsed the light from the open cupboard door. Uncle Vernon leaned into the cupboard. "Listen up, you two. This is Dudley's birthday, and you are not to mess it up. Any of your funny business, and you'll be locked in here for two weeks," he snarled, before stalking off to rejoin Dudley and Petunia.

Once Dudley's friend Piers Polkiss arrived, the group loaded into the minivan and headed off to the zoo. The twins had a wonderful time. They got lemon ices when the ice cream lady asked what they wanted before Uncle Vernon could hustle them away, and eating at a restaurant was a very rare treat. After lunch, however, Dudley and Piers started to get bored. Harry made sure to keep Tom right next to him so that if they decided to have a little fun beating on the twins, Harry could take the attention off of Tom. Over the years, Harry had always stepped between Tom and any sort of physical harm. Dudley and his gang were the ones that had broken his nose twice. The one time Uncle Vernon had tried to physically punish Tom the way he did Harry was when they were two. The twins didn't remember it, and Uncle Vernon had blocked the memory of being flung across the room when Harry clapped and then flung his hands apart, but Vernon never tried to hurt Tom again. Harry took the brunt of all punishments, even for the time Tom ended up on top of the school's library when Harry told him to run from Dudley's gang one day.

The next exhibit they went to was the reptile house. The cool exterior was nice and refreshing after the heat outside. Dudley and Piers had found the biggest snake in there, of course, a boa constrictor. Luckily it was the first enclosure in there so they didn't have to strain themselves looking. Dudley was rapping on the glass and making faces at the snake, trying to get it to move. "This is boring," Dudley moaned, and dragged Piers off to see the poisonous frogs.

"_That's rich coming from Dudley. He's not exactly the most exhilarating presence to be around himself," _Tom hissed at the snake. The snake slowly lifted his head, followed by a foot of his body, so that he was even with Tom's face. _"Are you talking to me?" _it hissed.

_"Can you hear me?" _Tom incredulously asked.

_"I think the more important question here, boss, is you can hear me?"_ the boa replied.

**"Harry, get over here! I can talk to this snake!"**

Harry rushed over and, glancing at the snake, hissed, _"What are you talking about Tom? Snakes don't talk_."

_"And yet, somehow, it seems that I do. Man oh man. Who'd a thought it, two human children able to speak the noble tongue of the snake. We haven't had a speaker since that crazy guy snuffed it ten years ago. Yo Frank, Tony, check out these two mooks. We gotta coupla speakers here."_

Two green pythons lifted their heads in the next tank. "_You for real Benny? We got coupla new bosses? We'll pass the word. Oi, Joey! Listen to this!"_

The hissing of the snakes spread around the room. Several people looked vaguely disturbed and left quickly due to the sudden activity of the previously quiescent reptiles. Harry and Tom noticed that all of the snakes talked with accents like the New Jersey mafia.

"Dudley, Mr. Dursley, you gotta see what this snake is doing!" Piers suddenly bellowed from behind them.

"Move it, freak," Dudley said as he waddled over, shoving Harry so hard into Tom that they both fell down, and then pressing his nose up to the glass at the snake that was now hissing profanities at him. In a flash, the glass disappeared, and Dudley tumbled into the river in the enclosure. The boa wasted no time taking advantage of this opportunity, and coiled once around Dudley before exiting its cage. Dudley promptly passed out from fright, most likely thankful that the water he landed in hid the fact that he had just pissed his pants.

_"I owe you one, Boss. My fellow snakes will hear the good news that two young speakers have revealed themselves to us. There will be much rejoicing," _the boa bowed to Harry, and then Tom, before making its sinuous way out of the reptile house.

_"Hey, yo, yous two think you could get the rest of us out?" _shouted one of the pythons.

Without thinking about it, Harry clapped his hands once before bunching the fingertips of his right hand together and blowing across them, opening his hand wide at the same time. Instantly the glass for all the other snake enclosures disappeared, and the snakes quickly started to file out, all of them stopping to bow to the twins and express their gratitude. Several mentioned going to the bosses to help spread the news of the 'new bosses'.

"Wow," Harry and Tom said as one.

* * *

The ride home was tense and silent. Dudley sat shivering wrapped in a blanket the zoo director had given him(while muttering about damn animal rights activists), and Uncle Vernon was biting his tongue and turning purple as he restrained himself from yelling while Piers was still with them. They arrived home, and right before Piers left, he casually turned to Mr. Dursley and said, "Harry and Tom were talking to the snake. I saw them." He then cast a malicious look at the twins and left.

Uncle Vernon turned to the boys, almost apoplectic with fury. "You, boy, get to your cupboard," he snarled at Tom. Tom cast a worried look at Harry before scurrying away. Any hint of disobedience from Tom would make it that much worse for Harry. He would get out the meager medical supplies he had squirreled away over the years and be ready for when Uncle Vernon would throw Harry into the cupboard under the stairs.

Uncle Vernon grabbed Harry by the scruff of his neck and dragged him up to the attic. He flung Harry to the floor before unleashing a flurry of hits and kicks on the unprotected boy, screaming out random disjointed derogatory words. Harry counted himself lucky that he only heard one crack of a bone snapping, his left ankle. When Uncle Vernon's fury was spent, he grabbed Harry's arm and took him back downstairs to throw into the cupboard, locking the door after him. Tom silently began treating Harry's wounds, silently so the Dursleys wouldn't hear and find out about the little medical kit the twins had. Harry was so used to pain; he barely even flinched when Tom set his ankle.

The twins were good at making up stories about Harry's injuries. They knew that if anyone suspected the amount of abuse that happened in the Dursley household, they would be taken away and most likely would be separated. So Harry took the beatings, and Tom fixed him as best he could, and anyone who cared to ask would be regaled with wild tales of Harry's adventures climbing trees, fording streams, and playing with puppies. And they didn't expect anything to ever change.

* * *

**Telepathy in bold**

_Parseltongue in italics_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Getting the Letter

By the time Harry and Tom got out of the cupboard, summer vacation had started and Harry's ankle was completely healed thanks to Tom's skills. Harry just knew that Tom would make a great doctor when he grew up. The boys knew that they needed scholarships if they expected to go to college, and so they worked very hard in school. Luckily the twins were able to keep their grades a secret from the Dursleys. The only time Uncle Vernon had seen their report cards compared to Dudley's had been a very bad day for the twins.

Dudley's gang was at the house nearly every day. Luckily they didn't mess with Harry as much since he grew to be taller than them, and they already knew to never mess with Tom. It was the one thing that made Harry fight back, and Harry was scary when he was angry. Tom looked like a little angel if you didn't notice the eyes; Harry looked like he was about to pull out a knife and mug someone.

Two days after they got locked in, they heard Uncle Vernon muttering about all the damn snakes that were showing up all of a sudden. The first time Harry went outside to do the gardening, about 30 snakes of varying species and size converged upon him, led by the pythons from the zoo, Frank and Tony.

_"Hey boss, where you been? We been waiting out here for weeks now. What, were you hibernating?" _one of them called out.

_ "Umm, not exactly. Look, you guys can't keep coming around here. One of you might get hurt; humans don't tend to respond favorably to snakes." _Harry replied.

_ "Listen to the boss, fellas. I think I'm getting teary eyed; we got us a boss that actually cares about what happens to us. That's the way it should be, you know? That last guy didn't care nothing for us," _the other python declared.

_ "What do you mean how it should be?" _Harry asked.

_ "It's the way of the speaker. You can speak to snakes, you speak for us. We do things for you; help you out, you help us out. Like busting us all out of the joint. You made a lot of friends that day," _the first python answered.

_"Well, how about just one of you stick around? That way if something comes up and any of us needs the other, we'll have a way to get in touch," _Harry suggested.

_"This is a good idea. We'll all split for now, spread the word not to come 'round here no more. Me and Tony will go confer with the bosses, and someone will show up in a week or so and be your new best friend." _With that final word, the snakes all bowed before turning around and disappearing into the undergrowth.

A little over a week later, while Harry was up on a ladder cleaning out the gutters, he was almost knocked to the ground when a flying body landed heavily on his shoulder. Quickly grabbing the roof to maintain his balance, Harry almost fell again when he looked at what had chosen him to rest upon. It was a snake, he thought, but it had wings and feathers on the end of its tail and the top of its head, and it had legs and a beak like a bird. It looked like it would be about 5' long if it was stretched out.

_"What the hell!"_

_ "Hey, how you doin'? I'm your new friend. The name's Sid."_

_ "Not to be rude, but you're a snake?"_

_ "I'm an occamy, which is, yes, a type of snake. The bosses thought that it would be quicker to get any messages back and forth through the skies than on the ground."_

_ "Okay. Well, I need to get back to work here, and you can't let anyone see you, especially my family."_

_ "Sure, sure, no problem boss. Isn't there another little boss running around though?"_

_ "Yeah, you can meet Tom later. And I'm Harry by the way."_

Harry got to know Sid fairly well while doing all the outdoor chores. Sid had a slightly sadistic sense of humor; he and Harry got along very well. Harry found out that Sid was fairly young, only a year old. He would grow another ten feet or so in length. The Dursleys had quite a chore list for Harry this summer. Tom took care of the indoor cleaning while Harry kept up the garden, painted the fence, garage, and house, and started working on reroofing the house. Sid liked the last chore because it was easy for him to stay out of sight up on the roof and talk to Harry.

The summer continued on, Dudley getting his new school uniform for Smeltings and inexplicably knocking himself out with the large stick that was part of it after hitting Tom in the arm. One day as Harry was fixing breakfast, Aunt Petunia came in with an armful of Dudley's old clothes.

"Boy! You are to dye these clothes gray today. It will be your school uniforms," Aunt Petunia said, dumping the clothes in the corner before putting a plate of food together for herself.

"Yes, Aunt Petunia," Harry dully replied. He could only imagine how ridiculous the clothes would look; like bits of old elephant skin most likely. Tom would be miserable. Maybe there would be a home ec class at Stonewall High that Harry could take so that he could fix the clothes to fit Tom better. Harry had not dared to use any of Aunt Petunia's thread after that one attempt.

Uncle Vernon and Dudley followed Aunt Petunia into the kitchen and piled their plates high. Tom crept in and smiled at Harry, going over to stand next to him at the stove. They all heard the click of the mail slot and flop of letters on the doormat.

"Get the mail, boy," Uncle Vernon said, not lifting his eyes from his paper.

**"I'll get it Harry."** Tom walked out of the kitchen towards the front door. There were four items on the doormat, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, a postcard from Aunt Marge, a letter for Harry, and a letter for Tom. Tom's eyes widened. The two letters were identical, thick and heavy and made of a yellowish parchment. The addresses were written in emerald green ink. Harry and Tom never got mail, but these letters were clearly for them.

_**Mr. T. Potter**_

_**The Cupboard under the Stairs**_

_**4 Privet Drive**_

_**Little Whinging**_

_**Surrey**_

Harry's envelope was addressed exactly the same, except for the initial _**H**_ instead of _**T**_. Turning his own letter over, Tom saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter H. Tom walked back to the kitchen and handed Uncle Vernon the bill and postcard, then walked over to Harry and gave him his letter. Harry looked at it curiously, and then glanced at Tom. Tom shrugged.

**"The only way to find out is to open it, Harry."**

Conceding the point, Harry and Tom started opening their letters at the same time.

"Dad!" said Dudley suddenly. "Harry and Tom have got something!"

"Give those here! How dare you open our mail, you freaks!" Uncle Vernon shouted.

"They're our letters! They're addressed to us!" Harry retorted angrily. Tom hated being called a freak.

"You? Who'd want to talk to you?" Uncle Vernon sneered, peeling open Tom's letter and shaking out the strange parchment within. Glancing at the writing, Uncle Vernon's face started to turn purple, before completely draining of all color.

"P-P-Petunia!" he gasped. Aunt Petunia curiously took the letter, and after glancing at it gave a tiny scream.

"Let us have our letters!" Harry shouted.

"Get out of here, all of you!" Uncle Vernon shouted back, back-handing Harry so hard he hit the floor in front of the door. Dudley took the opportunity to trample over Harry on his way out, and Tom hurried over to help Harry up and back to their closet. Either Vernon or Dudley had managed to break Harry's nose yet again; Tom was getting pretty good at resetting it.

The next day, Uncle Vernon sent Dudley out to get the mail. When Dudley handed Uncle Vernon the stack, the twins could clearly see four of the strange parchment letters. Uncle Vernon sneered at them before setting the letters on fire and letting them burn on his plate. When there was nothing left but ashes, he snarled, "Clean up this mess and get out of my sight."

Later that day, up on the roof, Harry was telling Sid about the strange letters.

_"I've seen these letters being delivered, boss, and it ain't the postman that's bringing them. These letters are being sent by owl."_

_ "Owls? Who would send a letter by owl? How would someone train an owl to deliver it?"_

_ "Man oh man, boss. Owls are used by wizards. You got wizards trying to get in touch with you."_

_ "What do you mean wizards? You mean like magical spell-casting wizards? There's no such thing!"_

_ "Right you are, boss, no such thing. There's also no such thing as a human who can speak to snakes."_

_ "Alright, alright. What do you know about wizards?"_

_ "Well, they ain't too fond of snakes, I can tell you that much. I got sent on recon once, allowed myself to 'get caught'. They put me in a cage and showed me off to young humans like yourself at some castle, a school. I was there long enough that I can mostly understand the human language, but beyond what they were teaching the students about me, I didn't learn too much."_

_ "Hmmm. Uncle Vernon isn't letting us have our letters. Is there any way that you could intercept the owls?"_

_ "Piece of cake, boss. Consider it done."_

The next day, Uncle Vernon gave Harry and Tom a victorious look when there were no letters for them in the mail. "I told you, Petunia, that they would leave us alone if we didn't answer. No problem at all."

After dinner that night, Harry gave Tom his letter and they opened them together. Tom excitedly opened the envelope and pulled out the sheet of parchment inside.

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL**

_**of **_**WITCHCRAFT **_**and **_**WIZARDRY**

**Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE**

_**(Oder of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,**_

_**Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)**_

** Dear Mr. Potter,**

**We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted**

**at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please**

**find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.**

**Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no**

**later than July 31.**

**Yours sincerely,**

**Minerva McGonagall,**

_**Deputy Headmistress**_

"Oh, Harry, it sounds awesome! Do you think we can go?"

"I hope so, Tom. The Dursleys aren't going to like it though, and they clearly know something about it since they didn't want us to get our letters. Maybe if we send a letter to the school explaining about Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, they can help us. Help me write something out, and maybe  
Sid will take it for us."

Choosing their words carefully, Harry and Tom finally got their letter written.

** Dear Deputy Headmistress McGonagall,**

** We would very much like to attend Hogwarts School. However,**

** our family does not really understand and do not seem likely to let us.**

** If you could help us overcome this obstacle, it would be greatly **

** appreciated. **

** Sincerely,**

** Harry and Tom Potter**

Harry took the finished letter outside and called for Sid. _"Hey Sid, do you think you could deliver this letter? We're going to need help to get the Dursleys to let us go to Hogwarts."_

_ "Sure thing, boss. Anything an owl can do, I can definitely do."_

Sid took the letter in his claws and started his journey north, while Harry headed back inside. He and Tom fell asleep dreaming of Hogwarts and life away from the Dursleys.

* * *

A blood-curdling scream echoed throughout the hallways of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Immediately, an ancient looking man went running through the halls toward the source, his long white beard and hair flowing behind him. Sliding into a room with his wand held at the ready, he encountered….nothing. Just his deputy headmistress sitting behind her desk clutching at her heart.

"Great Merlin, Minerva, what happened?" Albus Dumbledore exclaimed.

"A…an _occamy._ Flew right in. Dropped off a letter," Minerva McGonagall managed to stammer out. She then opened her bottom drawer, pulled out a flask, and took a healthy swig from it. Albus frowned and picked up the offending letter. As he read, his eyebrows travelled up towards his hairline.

"It's from the Potter twins. They need some help getting their relatives to let them come to school here. And they sent this with an occamy?" At Minerva's nod, Albus' frown deepened. "That is…rather disturbing. We must keep a very close eye on the twins. It would not do to have them turn to the dark side of wizardry, and consorting with snakes is not a good indicator of the light. Perhaps some recruitment is in order. Yes, I'll send out some letters. It shouldn't be too difficult to make sure they are on the right path. In the meantime, Minerva, someone will have to go meet with them. Who would you suggest?"

Minerva had been continuing to drink from her flask while Albus thought aloud, and looked a little glassy-eyed as she peered up at the sound of her name. "Err, someone nice?" was her intelligent contribution.

"Of course, Minerva," Albus twinkled at her. "I would send Hagrid, but he might be a bit much. Definitely not Severus, probably not you, no offense Minerva. How about Filius? All children like Filius; he doesn't tower over them, very non-threatening for Muggles."

"Sounds great, Albus," Minerva slurred. "Exactly the thing, Filius."

"Yes, thank you for your approval, Minerva. Why don't you go on to bed now, you had a nasty shock. I'll go ahead and write those letters while I'm thinking about it, and I'll talk to Filius tomorrow. We'll send him on their birthday. A nice little treat for the boys, I would imagine. The Dursleys don't really celebrate their births. They'll be seeing the 'light' in no time." Albus chuckled at his own joke as he walked out the door.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: An Introduction

Harry and Tom spent their nights talking about Hogwarts and the wizarding world. After talking to Sid some more, Sid had remembered that wizards called their pets 'familiars'. Since he was closer to Harry than Tom, it was decided that Sid would be Harry's familiar. Finding out that they were wizards cleared up a lot of the questions about the strange things that happened around the boys, but it also raised some questions about how they were wizards. They were eagerly anticipating the arrival of a real wizard to explain things to them.

The morning of the twins' birthday dawned bright and clear. The Dursleys never paid any attention at all to their birthday, and Harry and Tom themselves simply quietly wished each other happiness in the coming year. As the Dursleys were finishing up breakfast, there was a polite knock on the door.

"Boy! Get the door!"

Harry went to see who was at the door while Tom started cleaning up the breakfast dishes. Harry opened the front door and frowned when he didn't see anyone. "Bloody ding-dong-ditch idiots," he muttered as he started to close the door.

"Excuse me!" a voice squeaked. "Hello! I'm Professor Filius Flitwick, from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I'm here to see Mr. Harry Potter and Mr. Tom Potter."

Harry looked all the way down to see the most curious individual he had ever met. The man was clearly ancient, with a shock of white hair, and barely 4' tall. He was wearing a bright blue suit with a matching top hat held in his hand. Harry blinked, and when the same sight was still there he ushered the tiny man into the parlor.

"Hello, sir. I'm Harry. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Eep! Great Merlin, you've certainly grown up tall. Usually the eleven-year olds don't tower over me quite that much. And where is your brother, Mr. Potter? And I must meet the rest of your family. Such an exciting day; when Albus told me who he wanted me to come see, you could have knocked me over with a feather," Professor Flitwick finished up and stood there smiling happily at Harry.

"Erm, if you'll just have a seat, sir, I'll go get everyone. Please call me Harry. Can I bring you some coffee or biscuits?"

"Oh, no thank you Harry. Coffee has never been a friend of mine, makes me terribly hyper."

Harry went to get Tom and the Dursleys, privately thinking that the diminutive man was already pretty hyper without caffeine.

"Uncle Vernon? There's a professor here, he wants to talk to everyone."

"It's a dashed inconvenient time; I've got to get to work. What the bugger would a professor want here anyway?" Uncle Vernon grumbled as he heaved himself up and led the Dursleys into the parlor.

**"Tom! It's someone from Hogwarts! The strangest little man, I hope he can stand up to Uncle Vernon. Come on, Tom, he wants to meet you too."**

Tom eagerly dried his hands and smoothed his clothes as he hurried after Harry. He could hardly believe it was real; someone from Hogwarts actually cared enough to come see them.

In the parlor, the Dursleys were introducing themselves to Professor Flitwick. When Tom preceded Harry into the room, he eeped! again and rushed over to shake Tom's hand. "Mr. Potter! May I call you Tom? Your brother has already invited me to call him Harry. Such a joy meeting you! Such an exciting day it is!" Flitwick stopped as suddenly as he started and stood there smiling and rocking gently back and forth on his toes.

"Now see here, Professor Whoever-You-Are!" Uncle Vernon started to say.

"Filius Flitwick, sir, professor of Charms and head of Ravenclaw House at Hogwarts." Flitwick flitted around shaking everyone's hand and beaming; somehow he managed to get Harry and Tom twice.

"What exactly are you here for?" Uncle Vernon blustered, his face slightly purpling in response to Flitwick's peculiar greeting.

Flitwick seemed to snap back into the moment. "Oh, of course. So sorry. I came today to help the boys get everything they need for school, and to answer any questions that you all may have. I can't tell you how exciting it is that the Potter twins are finally old enough to come to Hogwarts."

Uncle Vernon's face had gotten progressively more purple throughout Flitwick's explanation. "What! They aren't going there. These two are going to Stonewall High, not some freakish school!"

"Don't be silly, of course they are coming to Hogwarts. There is no better place in the world, no finer school for magic! And that's not just me being biased. Well, boys if you'll go grab your book lists, we can be off." Flitwick rubbed his hands together excitedly.

"Did you not listen to what I just said!" Uncle Vernon bellowed, the vein is his forehead throbbing painfully. "They will not be going!"

Flitwick stopped smiling for the first time since he arrived. "Now Mr. Dursley, Albus left a letter with the boys explaining everything. You knew this was coming. These two have to go to Hogwarts to learn how to control their magic. You can't say no now, after all these years."

Harry's head flicked toward Uncle Vernon. "So you knew that we're wizards? You knew and you never told us? What else haven't you told us? Did our parents really die in a car crash?"

"A car crash! By Merlin, boys, I doubt your father even knew how to drive a car. Mr. Dursley, have you not told the boys the content of the letter that Albus left with them? This is simply preposterous! I'll be taking the boys to Diagon Alley now, and you had better get used to the idea of Hogwarts!" Flitwick had been floating higher and higher up off the ground as he spoke, shaking his finger at Uncle Vernon, and ended up with Uncle Vernon having to look up at him, and Aunt Petunia and Dudley were huddled in a corner. "Harry, Tom, grab your book lists. We should get started; we have a lot to do today."

The twins scrambled to grab the lists out of the cupboard, and waited for Flitwick at the door. They wore identical grins of pure joy over seeing Uncle Vernon get scolded.

Flitwick marched over and led them out the door. "Now then, boys, we're going to take the Knight Bus to Diagon Alley. If you'll just step back while I flag it down, we wouldn't want any accidents."

"Please sir, can someone come with us? It's my familiar," Harry asked.

"Of course Harry!" Flitwick beamed up at Harry. "How remarkable that you already have a familiar, you must tell me the full story, perhaps over a drink at the Leaky Cauldron. Where is your familiar? And what is your familiar?"

_"Hey, Sid, come on down here!"_

Flitwick paled at the sound of Harry hissing, and when he saw an occamy gliding down to them in response, the poor excitable man keeled right over.

"Professor Flitwick! Are you alright?" Tom anxiously hovered over the professor, helping him to sit back up slowly.

"Yes, yes, quite alright Tom, thank you. Harry, am I to understand that you can speak Parseltongue? That is a singularly rare talent, and not one that is looked upon favorably within our world. It might be best if you did not have an occamy as a familiar."

**"Tom, you better keep it to yourself that you can speak to them to. It wouldn't do for both of us to be looked upon 'unfavorably'." **Harry hid a tiny snigger at Professor Flitwick's choice of words.

** "That's not fair to make you bear it alone, Harry. I don't mind, really."**

Harry knew Tom was lying; Tom always tried his hardest to fit in. Harry was the one who didn't mind standing out, especially if it benefitted Tom. **"It's okay, Tom. You can be the normal one."** Harry winked at Tom.

"Professor Flitwick, this is Sid. I will not leave him behind, nor will I refuse to speak to him. That would be rude. And what's Parseltongue?"

"Parseltongue is the language of the snakes, Mr. Potter. Speaking Parseltongue is considered by many to be an indicator of a Dark wizard." Flitwick anxiously twisted his hat in his hands. "But I suppose you're right, it would be rude to suddenly ignore a friend just to please others. Very well, very well, let's get on our way here."

Tom timidly spoke up. "Please, sir, what's Diagon Alley? And the Knight Bus, what's that?"

Flitwick dropped his hat in astonishment. "Merlin's beard, I am completely scattered! Diagon Alley is the wizard's market, that's where the wizard bank is and any sort of magical supplies you could possibly need. The Knight Bus is the quickest way to get around with underage wizards when there isn't a Floo nearby." As Flitwick explained the Knight Bus, he flung out his wand arm. Right as he finished his sentence, a tremendous bang! signaled the arrival of a violently purple triple-decker bus.

Tom and Harry gaped in amazement as a young man jumped off the bus and began to read off a note card he held in his hand. "Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Dan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this morning. What is that?" The last part was said as Dan looked fearfully at Sid.

"Good morning, Dan. That is an occamy, young Harry's familiar. He won't be any trouble, I assure you. We have three for the Leaky Cauldron today."

"Hello, Professor, good to see you. I'll trust that you know how to control that…thing. Climb aboard, let's see, three to the Leaky Cauldron, that'll be two galleons and one sickle, please; but for two sickles more a piece you can get hot chocolate." Dan said this with a smile that suggested that that was a bargain for the delicious beverage.

Tom and Harry looked curiously as Professor Flitwick pulled out a pouch and pulled out some gold and silver coins. "Here you go, Dan, two galleons and seven sickles. Climb aboard, boys."

Once they were settled in huge overstuffed armchairs with their hot chocolate, Ern the driver put the bus into gear and they took off with a bang. The boys clung to the chair arms as they flew backwards. Sid hissed in displeasure and dug his claws into Harry's shoulder. Professor Flitwick didn't look at all bothered and stayed perfectly upright swinging his feet and happily sipping his hot chocolate.

"So you did you know our parents, Professor?" Harry asked.

An uncharacteristic look of sadness passed over the professor's face. "Yes, boys, I knew you're parents. Lily and James Potter, two of the finest, bravest people I have ever had the privilege to know. It's unconscionable that the Dursleys did not tell you about them."

"The Dursleys only ever told us that our parents were unemployed drunks who died in a car crash," Tom offered.

"Ridiculous! Your parents were both a part of the Order of the Phoenix, a secret organization that opposed You-Know-Who. James was training to become an Auror and Lily was studying for her Potions mastery."

"Who's You-Know-Who?" Harry asked.

"It is astounding that you don't know this. You-Know-Who was an evil wizard, a dark wizard. He delved deep into the Dark Arts and killed many people in his quest for blood purity. He and his followers believed that purebloods, witches and wizards who had two magical parents, were better than anyone else. Wizards who have one magical parent and one Muggle, or non-magical, parent, are known as half-bloods. Wizards with two Muggle parents are Muggle-borns, very simple really. They hardly thought Muggles worth anything, and they tortured Muggles and people who believed that Muggles were equals and thought blood didn't matter."

"But who is he?" Harry persisted.

"All right, I'll say his name. Most people don't; people are still afraid of him after ten years. He called himself Lord Voldemort." Flitwick whispered the name, leaning forward as far as he could.

_"Hey! That's the guy that was a speaker before you two!" _Sid exclaimed. Harry reached up and smoothed the feathers on Sid's head. _"Shh. Let Professor Flitwick finish."_ Harry hissed back.

"So what happened to our parents?" Tom asked.

"I guess there's no easy way to say it, boys. You-Know-Who murdered your parents. He also tried to kill you two."

"Tried? Why didn't we die?" Harry replied.

"Nobody really knows. You-Know-Who killed your parents with Avada Kedavra, a curse that kills instantly and painlessly and cannot be blocked. But when he tried to use it on you, it backfired. That's the closest we can figure. He disappeared, and you two got those scars on your foreheads where the curse hit you." The twins automatically reached up under their hair to trace their scars. "You need to know this, because that night you two stopped You-Know-Who; that night made you famous. Everybody in our world knows who you are: the Twins-that-Lived."

Harry and Tom sat back in their seats with a slightly blank look in their eyes. Professor Flitwick assumed they needed a moment to process everything that he had told them.

**"Bloody hell. Are you ok Tom?"**

** "I…I'm not sure Harry. Our parents were murdered. If it weren't for this You-Know-Who, we wouldn't have to live with the Dursleys."**

** "Call him by his name, Tom. The guy's been gone for ten years, there's no reason to be afraid of such a ridiculous name as 'Voldemort'."**

** "Yeah, you're right Harry. It is a stupid name."**

Harry and Tom started laughing aloud. "Ummm, are you boys alright?" Flitwick queried with a worried expression on his face.

"Oh yeah, sorry Professor. It's just; Voldemort is such a stupid name. We needed something to laugh at after all that." Harry answered as Tom caught his breath. Flitwick flinched when Harry said Voldemort's name.

Suddenly all the chairs slid forward as the bus came to a screeching halt.

"This is our stop boys, the Leaky Cauldron. It's the entrance to Diagon Alley." Flitwick ushered the twins off the bus. Once they were on the sidewalk, he gave the boys a moment to examine the Leaky Cauldron. It wasn't the most glamorous building, to be sure, but it exuded an air of comfort and welcome. The boys smiled at each other and pulled open the door.

The first thing that they noticed upon entering the pub was the huge fireplace. It completely dominated the wall on the right. The pub wasn't very busy at this time in the morning; only a couple people were seating at the tables eating brunch and keeping to themselves. A bald man with very few teeth left came out from behind the bar smiling.

"Good morning, Professor. What brings you here today?"

"Hello, Tom. Boys, this is Tom, he owns the place. Tom, this is Harry and Tom, new Hogwarts students. I'm taking them to get their supplies."

"Bless my soul. Harry and Tom _Potter_?"

"Shh. We don't want to attract everyone's attention, Tom. Don't want to overwhelm the boys their first time out."

"Right you are, Professor. Just nip around back then. Perhaps stop back in for a drink and a meal before you leave. It would be a pleasure."

"Yes, thank you Tom. Let's go, boys. The entrance to Diagon Alley is out back."

Harry and Tom followed Flitwick through the pub into an alley with a brick wall and a couple of trash cans. It didn't look very promising. They looked dubiously over at the tiny man, who was smiling in anticipation.

"Step back, boys." Flitwick pulled out his wand and tapped the brick wall. The bricks wiggled and squirmed, and a small hole appeared in the center one. The hole got bigger and bigger until it was large enough to walk through. As the twins caught their first glimpse of Diagon Alley, their jaws dropped open in awe. Flitwick beamed at their expressions.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley."


	5. Chapter 5

Nicole: I'm sorry you don't like Tom's name; you shouldn't discriminate just because of Voldemort though. I know a lot of great guys named Tom, including my boyfriend;-) Thanks for taking the time to review.

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Chapter 5: Diagon Alley

Harry and Tom didn't know where to look first. The street had so many interesting shops. Some of them were just opening. There were cages of animals screeching and meowing and barking outside one store. Barrels filled with odd-looking things were being levitated out and positioned in front of the apothecary by a young man. They walked past a shop that had brooms displayed in the windows and a bookstore that was so large they practically drooled at the thought of the inside. As they passed by one shop front, the curtains were pulled back to reveal a single wand resting on a faded pillow. As they were looking around, Harry frowned and turned to Professor Flitwick.

"Professor, how are we going to pay for school supplies? Is there a scholarship program?" he asked.

"Oh, no boys, I'm afraid you have to pay for it yourselves. But not to worry, we're heading to Gringotts, the wizard's bank, and you'll be able to get the money out of your vault."

"Our vault? We don't have any money." Tom piped up as he tore his eyes away from a sign of a giant ice cream sundae.

"Of course you do. You have the money that your parents left for you. Professor Dumbledore gave me the key before I came to get you."

"The headmaster? Why would he have our bank key?"

"Well, the headmaster was the leader of the Order of the Phoenix, which your parents were a part of, and he took care of everything after your parents were killed and held onto your key so it wouldn't get lost because…" a frown crossed over Flitwick's face, "of course! Your parents must have made him the executor of their will." He finished with a smile of satisfaction for having figured it out.

Harry frowned slightly, and privately decided to look into the matter more thoroughly.

"Sir, what were those funny coins you gave to the conductor?" Tom asked.

"Wizarding money, my boy. Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts. Gold Galleons, silver Sickles, and bronze Knuts. There are twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle and seventeen Sickles to a Galleon, simple enough to remember," Flitwick replied.

As they approached the imposing white marble structure of Gringotts, the small group passed a darkened alley leading off of Diagon Alley. Harry peered down that road and saw an odd assortment of people, most with their hoods pulled forward over their faces.

"What's that road?" he asked the professor.

"That's Knockturn Alley. It's considered the place to go for the darker aspects of magic, such as supplies that are just barely legal to have. I would suggest that you steer clear of there, boys. It's not the safest place to be."

The trio ascended the stairs to Gringotts. As they passed the goblins standing guard with their pikes, Tom automatically leaned into Harry away from them. Harry watched the goblins carefully as they passed.

"Those are goblins, boys. They own the wizard's bank, absolutely brilliant with finances."

Once inside the majestic building, the three got in line and waited for the next available goblin teller. As they stepped up to the counter, Professor Flitwick reached into his inner coat pocket and pulled out a golden key. He laid it on the counter before addressing the goblin.

"Good day, sir. Mr. Harry and Tom Potter are here to make a withdrawal."

The goblin picked up the key and examined it. "That appears to be in order. Griphook can take you down to the vault. Is there anything else?"

"No, that's all-"

"Actually," Harry interrupted, "I was wondering if we could meet with someone to go over the account: how much is in it and such. Would that be possible? I want to make sure we'll have enough to last through our entire schooling."

The goblin gave Harry a gimlet-eyed look. "That can be arranged; however it could take some time to go through everything. It would be best to make an appointment. I can assure you, however, that you will most likely not run through the entire contents of your vaults in your lifetime."

"Yes, that would be most agreeable, thank you. Perhaps after school has started would be best, on a weekend. Is that allowed, Professor?"

"You'll have to have someone go with you. Students can't leave the grounds unaccompanied. If you like, I can come with you."

"That would be wonderful, Professor, thank you. How about we make it the second weekend of the school year, Saturday, September 14. Plenty of time for us to get settled at Hogwarts, and hopefully before we get completely swamped with schoolwork." Harry remarked with a sly smirk at Professor Flitwick.

"Very well. That's Saturday, September 14, at 10am. Is that agreeable?" The goblin confirmed.

"Yes, thank you. Let's get on down to the vault, then." Harry smiled and threw an arm around Tom, dragging him after the goblin that had shown up to take them to their vault.

"Gerroff, Harry. What's gotten into you?"

"Did you hear what he said? We're rich, Tom! You're getting a brand new wardrobe, no more hand-me-down clothes four sizes too big, no more shoes falling apart held together with duct tape. From now on, Tom, you get the best of everything."

A brilliant smile wreathed Tom's face. The twins thoroughly enjoyed the cart ride to their vault, yelling and throwing their hands in the air while Flitwick smiled indulgently and Griphook looked suspicious. When they reached their vault, Griphook opened the vault and pulled open the door, releasing a cloud of green smoke. As it cleared away, the boys got their first glimpse of their riches. Inside were piles of gold, silver, and bronze, columns of coins rising to the ceiling.

**"There's no way the Dursleys know about this, Tom. If they did, they would have tried to take it for themselves."**

** "So we won't let them know. We'll keep it a secret, and tell them we're on scholarship if they ask how we're paying for school."**

** "That means we have to hide everything. Including new clothes. When we're with the Dursleys, we have to continue wearing Dudley's old things. I'm sorry, Tom. We can't risk losing this."**

** "It's okay, Harry. At least we can look better in the wizarding world. The Dursleys aren't going to change their opinion about us."**

Harry gave Tom a quick hug, and then walked into the vault. Tom followed behind him, while Flitwick waited in the cart and Griphook right outside the door. Tom found several velvet bags hanging to the left of the door.

"Hey, Harry, we can put the money in these bags. How much do you think we should take?"

"Well, since we're buying whole new wardrobes and all our school supplies, and we aren't going to run out of money, we should take as much as we can fit in the bags." Harry grinned at Tom.

Tom picked up a red bag and tossed Harry a green one, and the twins started filling them up with Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts. They were amazed at how much fit into the bags without them being any heavier.

Their first stop after Gringotts was Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. They were greeted by the lady herself upon entering, a plump cheerful-looking lady.

"Here for Hogwarts, dears? If you'll just hop up onto a footstool, I can get you fitted up in a jiffy for your uniforms."

"Actually," Harry interjected, "my brother and I are in need of an entire new wardrobe each. Do you carry everything that we might need?"

"Ooo, what a treat! A whole wardrobe for each of you, what fun! Yes, we have everything here, robes, pants, shirts, shoes, socks, everything!" Madam Malkin practically squealed she was so excited. She clapped her hands and called out, "Missy, Lissy, come and help. We have two young men that need full wardrobes." A set of short, curly-haired witches came bustling out of the back. They immediately pulled the twins onto footstools and began measuring them every which way, before stopping abruptly and rushing out into the racks.

Professor Flitwick settled himself in a chair next to the wall with Sid under the chair and pulled a large book out of his top hat. Harry and Tom watched in bemusement as the twin witches came hustling back with towering stacks of clothing. Missy was helping Harry in and out of various robes, while Lissy helped Tom and Madam Malkin commented on every outfit. When it came to the shirts and pants, the boys were pushed into separate dressing robes with the specific items they were to put on; after they came out and the outfit was okayed or vetoed they were handed another outfit, and while they were being examined by Madam Malkin the girls would slip in and get the clothes out of the rooms and separate them into three stacks: Harry's, Tom's, or neither.

In the middle of all this, the bell rang indicating another customer in the store. An imperious voice called out for Madam Malkin, who got an annoyed expression on her face before sending Missy to deal with the customer, leaving Lissy to assist both boys.

After almost an hour in the store, Harry and Tom were quite sure that they never wanted to do that again. They had jeans and dress pants, suits, T-shirts, button-up long-sleeved shirts, ties, belts, shoes, socks, underwear, and so many robes that they barely understood how they were supposed to be worn; not to mention their school uniforms, hats, gloves, cloaks, and shoes. They had cotton, linen, silk, satin, velvet, and denim. Harry's wardrobe tended more to blacks and dark, rich colors. Tom had a much brighter wardrobe. They were both dressed in some of their new clothes to leave the store in. Harry wore black jeans and a black tank top with a matching linen robe open over them and black dragon hide boots over his pants. Tom wore pretty much the same, except his shirt and robe were blue. Sid sat on Harry's left shoulder with his lower half wrapped around Harry's arm and his upper half camouflaged in Harry's long hair. Even with magically expanded bags, they had six bags to carry.

From Madam Malkin's they went to the Slug & Jiggers Apothecary, where they got all of the potion supplies they could possibly need. Then they went around getting their cauldrons, scales, phials, telescopes, parchment, ink, and quills. The shop employees were very helpful; apparently all the bags that they had lent the (correct) appearance that they were spending a lot of money and getting the best items available. They had at least one assistant helping them in every shop. Harry and Tom found it to be a novel experience that they thoroughly enjoyed.

When they bought their trunks, Tom got a simple trunk with locking charms keyed to his magical signature and a permanent feather-light charm on it, along with a minor enlargement on the inside. Harry, however, decided to get the deluxe model. It had the same locking feature as Tom's and the feather-light charm, but Harry's trunk had several different compartments. The top was a regular trunk like Tom's, but there were also three drawers, two in one row over a larger drawer. The two top drawers held a library on the right and another large space with shelves on the left. The bottom drawer, however, had an actual little apartment in it: a bedroom, bathroom, and combined kitchenette/study area, fully furnished. Harry had them put an extra bed in the bedroom. They put all their bags and even Tom's trunk into Harry's trunk, then Flitwick shrunk it down and Harry slid it into his pocket.

By this time it was 1:00, so they stopped at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour for banana splits. Flitwick explained, with a perfectly serious expression, that the bananas, cherries, and nuts made it a healthy meal.

After their 'healthy meal' they went to Flourish & Blotts bookstore. Harry and Tom were very excited at the prospect of all these new books to read, and having enough money to get all the books they wanted. They spent two hours going through the entire store after quickly grabbing their school texts. Harry was determined to make a start on filling the library in his trunk. Tom got nearly every book they had on Healing and Hogwarts, plus a book of 'Useful Charms for Around the House', while Harry focused on supplemental texts for their subjects. He also picked up several books about runes that looked interesting, and a book about animagi, as well as books on wizard etiquette and law. Once again, Flitwick had chosen a seat near the wall while they shopped; Sid chose to stay wrapped around Harry. Harry and Tom both had an assistant following after them levitating their selected books. While they were in the back of the store looking at some fiction books, they heard the same imperious voice that they had heard at Madam Malkin's calling for assistance. One of the assistants helping Harry and Tom had to eventually go take care of him, leaving the other looking a little strained under all the books he was levitating. When they checked out, Harry pulled out his trunk and they put the books into the library.

"Well, boys, there's only one thing left to get: your wands."

Harry and Tom grinned at each other. They were looking forward to this even more than the bookstore. They walked down the street to Ollivander's, Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. They walked inside, setting off a bell that hung over the door. Its chime echoed forlornly into the dusty store. The boys peered around at the shelves which held thousands of boxes.

"Good afternoon." A voice came out of the darkness, preceding an older man with white hair and blue eyes so pale they were almost silver that never blinked. "The Potter twins. I was wondering when I would see you. Who would like to go first?"

Harry shoved Tom forward. "Go on, Tom, you can go first."

**"Thanks, Harry. Send me into the creepy unknown first."**

** "Oh, suck it up. I'm being nice."**

Tom shot Harry a glare before facing Ollivander once more. The man had moved so close they were practically touching noses. He quelled the impulse to jump backwards.

"Which is your wand hand?"

"Err, I'm right-handed." Tom replied.

"Hold out your arm. That's it." A tape measure suddenly started measuring every possible thing that could be measured on Tom. It measured from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, and knee to armpit, round his head and between his nostrils. While the tape measure was doing that, Ollivander was flitting around pulling down boxes. "Every wand has a powerful magical core. No two wands are alike. The wand chooses the wizard, and you will never get as good results with another wizard's wand."

He came back to Tom and handed him a wand. "Here, try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Just take it and give it a wave." Tom awkwardly took the proffered bit of wood and waved it about, only to have it snatched away almost immediately.

"No no," Ollivander said, "try this one, maple and phoenix feather, seven inches, quite whippy."

That wand too was snatched away quickly. "No, try this one…" Tom tried and tried, the pile of tried wands growing larger and larger while Harry silently laughed at him. Tom stuck his tongue out at Harry.

Ollivander's smile continued to grow. "Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere. I wonder… yes, why not. Unusual combination, holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."

Tom took the wand and felt an immediate warmth rush through him. He swished the wand, causing bright red and gold sparks to shoot from the end like fireworks.

"Wow!" Harry shouted.

"Well done, Tom." Professor Flitwick beamed.

"Yes, yes, well done indeed." Ollivander echoed with a puzzled look. "It's very curious, Mr. Potter, that this wand should be yours. I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. The phoenix that gave the feather for your wand gave just one other feather. It is curious that this wand is yours, when its brother is the one that gave you and your brother your scars."

Tom gulped and looked at his new wand.

**"Don't worry about it, Tom. Your wand can't help who its relatives are, just like it's not our fault we're related to the Dursleys."**

Tom gave Harry a grateful look.

"Now, Mr. Potter, let us get you a wand. Which is your wand hand?"

"Well, I'm ambidextrous, so both?" Harry questioned.

"Ah, I see I have another tricky customer on my hands. Very well, Mr. Potter, let's get started."

The tape measure sprang to life, measuring Harry every which way, even more than Tom since it had to do both sides. And then Harry started trying wands. He waved wands for over an hour. He tried every wand in the store, and none of the wands chose him. Ollivander was flabbergasted.

**"Nice, Harry. I least I got a wand." **Tom pulled a face at Harry, laughing.

**"Shove it, Tom. I'll get a wand, you just wait."**

"My goodness. This hasn't happened in a hundred years, Mr. Potter. I do not have a wand for you." Ollivander bowed his head in shame, before perking up quickly. "I shall have to make your wand special order for you. Oh, the joy of a challenge!"

Ollivander conjured up three more chairs so they could all sit down, and then summoned several boxes. He pulled out a piece of parchment and dipped a quill in an inkwell.

"Now, Mr. Potter, we need to write down all your specifications and measurements, and then you shall look through the boxes of wood and cores to see if anything speaks to you." He snapped his fingers and the measuring tape went back to work, only this time the quill was zooming across the parchment writing it all down.

As they waited for it to finish up, the bell over the door rang, admitting a family of three. The father was tall and blonde and carried a cane; the mother was tall and blonde and had an expression of distaste; and their son was short and blonde and had a pointed face.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Ollivander," the father said smoothly, in an imperious tone of voice that the twins thought they recognized. "My son is about to start Hogwarts and is in need of his wand."

"Mr. Malfoy, can't you see I'm with another customer? I have to do a special order and I just don't have time right now, so come back later please." Ollivander curtly replied.

The Malfoy family looked shocked. Nobody told the Malfoys to come back later; you didn't send the Malfoys away so you could wait on someone else. The Malfoy family had not been having as good a day as they had expected. It seemed that every store they went to today they had to wait for service. Madam Malkin didn't come to help them herself, they had to carry their purchases themselves because the assistants were busy helping someone else, and now they were being told to come back later. And someone was getting a wand made expressly for him, which no Malfoy had ever had. It was outrageous.

"It's quite all right, Mr. Ollivander, you can help them out and we'll wait." Harry said. "It sounds like we're going to take a while."

"Very well, if you're sure. Mr. Malfoy, which is your wand hand?"

Harry, Tom, and Flitwick watched as Ollivander quickly found the youngest Malfoy's wand, hawthorn and unicorn hair, ten inches, reasonably springy. The Malfoys paid seven Galleons for it, and with a nod to the waiting trio they swept out of the store. Ollivander flipped the open sign to close behind them.

"Now, then, Mr. Potter, we can continue. Let us begin with the wood, shall we? If you can just go through this box, pick up the different types; see if any of them feel better in your hand than the others."

Harry pulled the indicated box closer and looked inside it. Inside were many different lengths of wood in various colors. Harry shifted through them, picking some of them up and feeling the wood in his hand. He pressed with his thumb and fingernail, tossed them back and forth in his hands, and sighted down the length of them. Finally, he held one out to Ollivander.

"This one feels right, sir," he said.

"Ah, the elm; it symbolizes strength of will and intuition. A strong choice, Mr. Potter. If you'll go through this box, it contains all of the pieces of elm that I have. Same as the other box, just try to find one that feels right."

Again, Harry went through every piece of wood in the box, sighting down them and measuring them against his forearm. He finally handed Ollivander a length of it.

"12 ½ inches, wonderful. It will be a nicely pliable, powerful wand. Now comes the hard part, I'm afraid. There are so many different wand cores, you see. You don't necessarily have to touch everything; some of them are a little juicy. You can hover your hand over them to get the feel of them."

Ollivander pushed forward a box separated into different compartments. Harry picked up the dry cores and hovered his hand over the wet ones. He went through the whole box without any of them sparking like the wood had, when he saw a glistening in the corner of the box under some unicorn tail hair. As soon as Harry touched it, he knew that this was his wand's core. He pulled it out to discover that it was an iridescent emerald green, sapphire blue scale of some sort. He mutely handed it over to Ollivander.

"Ah…" Ollivander breathed, "I did not realize that I still had one of these. It must have been hiding, waiting for you. This is a chimaera scale; they are extremely difficult to obtain due to the danger of the beast itself. It is the most powerful core of any that I have ever used. The wand this will make will be very strong indeed. The elm wood will work nicely with it; you will indeed need strength of will to use this wand."

Harry gulped at the intensity of the look Ollivander was giving him. Tom reached over and squeezed his hand. Their wands were a bit more disturbing than they had thought they would be.

"Well, Mr. Potter, it will take me a few days to make this for you. I can send it along by owl when it is finished. So, Mr. Tom's wand is seven Galleons, and Mr. Harry's is-"

"Excuse me, sir," Harry interrupted, "what's this?" Harry had picked up a small metal ball out of the box of cores and was rolling it around his open hands. Ollivander stopped and gaped at Harry.

"Mr. Potter, why did you pick that up?"

Harry didn't look up from the rolling metal, seeming entranced. "I don't know; it just caught my eye. What is it?"

"That, Mr. Potter, is apparently the final part of your wand. Only once before have I used metal in a wand. That is osmium, the metal of endurance beyond reason and strength beyond expectation. If you could hand it to me, Mr. Potter."

Harry reluctantly handed it over.

"Right, well, Mr. Potter, your wand will be twenty Galleons, so that will be twenty-seven Galleons total."

"What's the best way to carry our wands, sir?" Tom asked as he counted out the money.

"Considering how long your wands are, it would be easiest for you to have holsters in your boots. I have some dragon hide holsters here that are charmed so that no one can summon them out except you. They're three galleons."

"Great, we'll take two," Tom replied, counting out the extra. Tom promptly put his holster in his right boot and placed his wand in it before handing Harry his holster.

"I'll have Mr. Potter's wand sent out in five days at the most. It's quite an intriguing project. I wish you good luck, boys. I do believe you will need it."

It was a quiet group that took a corner table at the Leaky Cauldron a few minutes later. It was 7:30, the middle of the dinner rush. Flitwick had placed mild Notice-Me-Not charms on the boys so they wouldn't be mobbed by the crowd. They ordered the dinner special and butterbeers, which Flitwick assured the twins, was the best drink in wizardom.

As they enjoyed the delicious drink and waited on their dinners, they rehashed the day's events. It had been a very long day. Harry and Tom asked Flitwick more questions about Hogwarts and the different houses, and Flitwick made sure to tell them about the underage magic use law.

"How do they track it?" Harry asked.

"There's a tracer placed on the wands of underage witches and wizards. The ministry is alerted if the wand is used outside of school."

Harry filed the information away and dug into his shepherd's pie. Once they finished eating, they went out to Muggle London and flagged down the Knight Bus. Forgoing the hot chocolate this time, they settled into the armchairs and braced for takeoff. Professor Flitwick went ahead and unshrunk Harry's trunk and the twins changed back into their Dudley castoffs, much to Flitwick's bewilderment.

When they pulled to a stop outside number 4 Privet Drive, the twins said their good byes to the kind professor. Flitwick apparated away and the Knight Bus left with a bang. The boys turned with a sigh to face their 'home'. Time to face the Dursleys once more.

Harry hefted his trunk, and as they took their first steps up the walkway, a red blur came rocketing out of the sky towards Tom.

"Look out!" Harry shouted too late.

As soon as the blur hit Tom it burst into flame and knocked him to the ground. A moment later a shocked Tom was holding a handful of ash and a tiny naked baby bird.

"Whew, close call. I was afraid you wouldn't get home in time," the bird said in a piercingly high tone.

"_Holy crap! You have a phoenix familiar!" _Sid hissed.

"A what?"

* * *

I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and I hope you enjoyed reading it. Please contribute to the warm fuzzies and review:-)


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The End of the Summer, and Getting There

Sid refused to stay outside that night; he was too curious about the newest member of their group to miss out on the introductions. So Harry had Sid hidden underneath his oversized shirt and Tom was carrying his new baby phoenix between his body and the trunk as they carried the trunk into the house. Luckily, the Dursleys ignored their entrance. They made their way swiftly to the cupboard under the stairs and shoved the trunk under the cot. Harry closed the cupboard door and opened up the bottom drawer of his trunk. Once they were all situated in the kitchenette/study area, they turned their attention to the phoenix sitting in the middle of the table.

"Alright, bird, talk. Why did you attack my brother?" Harry started the questions.

"I didn't attack him!" the phoenix replied in a musical, lightly accented female voice. "I had to get to him before I cycled so that we could bond together. Usually only my bonded human would be able to understand me. I guess you're just an added bonus since you're twins." The phoenix sneered in Harry's direction (as much as a bird can sneer) before looking fondly at Tom. "You are my new bonded person. We shall be together for the rest of your life."

Tom looked a little alarmed at the prospect of being stuck with this unknown creature for all his life.

"Look, who exactly are you and why did you choose me?" he asked.

The phoenix stood as tall and dignified as a tiny naked bird could. "I am Khepri. It means 'morning sun' in Egyptian, my homeland. I was led to you by magic itself. I was destined to be your familiar, and we shall do great things together."

"Riiiiight. Excuse us a moment." Harry said before pulling Tom and Sid into a huddle. _"I think this bird is psychotic. What are your votes?"_

_ "Definitely a nut job, boss. Full-on straitjacket for this one." _Sid chimed in.

_"It's definitely strange, but it's kinda cool. I mean, Sid is your familiar, Harry, and now I can have my own. Even if it is a girl that tips the scales a little more towards crazy."_

Khepri stuck her beak into the middle of their conclave. "Excuse me, but I can understand Parseltongue. I am not crazy, Tom, Harry, and Sid." The phoenix had a look of disgust on her face as she said Sid. "I simply take pride in the heritage of my race. Not something _you _would know anything about." The last was directed at Sid.

"_Great. Now we can't even talk about it without it knowing about it. Frickin' snobby killjoy." _Sid stuck his tongue out at Khepri, which, being a snake, was an impressively long tongue.

"Plebian." Khepri clicked her beak at the occamy.

"Come on, Harry. Let's keep her."

"Alright, Tom," Harry sighed, "she can join our happy home."

After sneaking some food for the phoenix, everyone settled down into their new beds. Harry found out that he couldn't get comfortable stretched out, so he ended up sleeping in the lotus position still while Sid took up most of the bed. Tom was happily stretched out on his bed, and they had made a cozy nest in the top drawer of the small dresser for Khepri. Exhausted, everyone fell asleep.

* * *

Filius apparated to the gates of Hogwarts and enjoyed a nice leisurely stroll across the grounds in the cool night air. He had thoroughly enjoyed his day with the twins. They had surprised him in many ways. First their attire, than their family, the fact that they didn't know about the wizarding world or their wealth, and the joy they took in shopping. He could have warned them about telling Madam Malkin that they wanted whole new wardrobes, but he liked to let children learn things on their own. Plus the expressions on their faces were hysterical. Their love of books boded well for their academic success at Hogwarts. The most surprising thing, of course, was Harry's wand. Filius didn't know anyone who had to have a wand made just for them. And with osmium, no less. Filius couldn't think of a stronger combination of wand parts. He resolved to keep a close eye on the twins; a wand like that would not be happy with a quiet life.

As Filius crossed the Entrance Hall, Albus was coming up from the dungeons.

"Ah, Filius!" he exclaimed jovially. "I was expecting you back hours ago. How was your day with the Potter twins?"

"Wonderful, Albus, absolutely delightful. They are charming boys. We might want to check in on the family, though. The twins didn't know anything at all about their heritage."

"I'm sure the Dursleys were just trying to protect them, Filius, no cause for alarm. Tell me about Harry and Tom. What were your impressions of them?" Catching Filius' eye, Albus used Legilimency to watch Filius' memories of the day.

"Well, Harry seemed rather protective of Tom. He did most of the talking while Tom stayed quiet most of the day. Harry has a familiar already, an occamy named Sid. He's a parselmouth, Albus; we'll have to look out for him. We wouldn't want anyone to judge him on something he has no control over. We had quite a lot of fun shopping; the boys made the mistake of telling Madam Malkin that they needed entirely new wardrobes. We spent two hours in Flourish & Blotts; they have a marvelous love of books. We saved the wands for last, of course. Tom got a holly and phoenix feather wand, but Harry couldn't find a wand in Ollivander's stock. Ollivander is making his special order: elm, chimaera scale, and osmium."

"Osmium? Ollivander is putting metal into Harry's wand?"

"Well, Harry picked it up, seemed almost bewitched by it. Ollivander said it had to be his. Oh, Albus! I just remembered, I forgot to tell the boys how to get onto Platform 9 ¾. I'll have to send them an owl."

"I wouldn't worry about it, Filius. Obliviate! I'm glad you had fun with the twins today. Enjoy the rest of your evening, Filius. I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, Albus. Have a good evening."

'That was a close call,' Albus thought. It was a true testament to Filius' magic that he had remembered about the Platform at all. True, it had only been a mild compulsion to forget, but it was placed by Albus himself. It was a shame he had to obliviate Filius, but he couldn't have him telling the boys how to get onto the Platform. It was the perfect place for them to meet the Weasleys. They were the only family he could guarantee would be in Gryffindor, and they had a son starting this year. He would be the perfect friend for the twins. He would have to send another letter to Molly to tell her what the boys looked like; there was a startling difference in their heights. No one who didn't know who they were would ever suspect them of being twins.

Albus stroked his beard absently. It was rather disturbing that Harry was a parselmouth with an occamy familiar. Tom had ended up with the wand that he had assumed Harry would have, and Harry was getting an extremely powerful wand. He could only hope that they would fall in line with his plans.

* * *

The next morning, Harry woke up at his usual time. He used the washroom in the trunk and changed, then went up the spiral staircase to exit the trunk and start breakfast for the Dursleys. They had one month until they could leave for Hogwarts, and Harry didn't want to spend that time healing or hiding in the trunk. At least he had had the presence of mind to exchange some Galleons for pounds. He planned to get some groceries for the trunk so that he and Tom could get enough to eat. He also had to pick up food for Khepri, who apparently couldn't go hunt for herself until her wings grew back in. He had been informed by the imperious bird that kiwis and guavas were her particular favorites.

After Uncle Vernon went to work, Aunt Petunia took Dudley out for the day with Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon to Thorpe Park in Chertsey. Harry and Tom took the opportunity to go through all their purchases in the living room, separating it all out and packing up their trunks. They organized the library by subject and author's last name, leaving their actual textbooks out. Tom's things were packed neatly into his single compartment; Harry was able to put just his clothes in the large compartment and everything else on the shelves of the drawer. They made sure to leave their uniforms on top, as well as an outfit to wear to the train station in the apartment bedroom. Then they stored Tom's trunk back in the apartment and Harry's trunk under the cot in the cupboard, and got back to work.

The Dursleys pretty much ignored Harry and Tom for the rest of the month. Apparently Uncle Vernon didn't want Harry going off to Hogwarts injured either, so Harry didn't have to endure any punishment for the day of work they missed by going to Diagon Alley. Luckily the Dursleys also didn't care enough to ask how they were paying for all their school supplies.

Harry and Tom spent all their extra time reading the books that they had bought. They glanced through all their text books first. Harry was excited about Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Tom was looking forward to Charms and Transfiguration. The little book of useful charms for the home that Tom had bought was filled with cleaning, cooking, and repair charms. It also included a summoning charm that they thought could be very useful for getting their wands out quickly. When they were doing their chores, Harry and Tom would talk about the different things that they had read.

With the extra food that they were getting now, Harry was able to put on a little weight. He was still a little underweight, but he no longer looked completely emaciated. Khepri was also growing quickly; in two weeks she was able to start foraging for herself. She was really quite beautiful-and vain- with her bright red feathers tipped in gold.

Four days after their trip to Diagon Alley, a snowy white owl landed next to Harry on the roof with a long skinny box in its talons. His wand had arrived. Harry could hardly contain his excitement to see it, but managed to wait until he was in the apartment with Tom, Sid, and Khepri. He gently lifted off the lid and pulled back the layers of tissue paper to reveal his wand nestled in black velvet. 12 ½ inches long, nicely pliable and powerful, with the silvery blue osmium inlaid in an intricate pattern along the shaft and raised up on the handle for a sure grip, Harry instantly fell in love with it.

Harry picked it up in both hands to examine it, before taking it firmly in his left hand. He twirled it in a spiral in front of him, then flicked the tip up towards the ceiling. Silver, blue, and green sparks shot up in a swirling funnel before exploding like fireworks and showering down around them.

"Wicked! That's awesome, Harry!"

Harry just grinned back at Tom, unable to express in words the feeling his wand gave him, but Tom understood.

* * *

A week before September 1, Harry approached Uncle Vernon about getting to King's Cross Station.

"Uncle Vernon, Tom and I need to be at King's Cross Station in London on September 1 at 11 am to catch the train to school. Would you please take us?"

Uncle Vernon narrowed his piggy little eyes at Harry, before grunting and giving a slight wobble of his chins that Harry took for a yes.

"Thank you Uncle Vernon."

Harry woke up extra early on September 1. He got up and showered, then attempted to control his hair. It was better than when it used to be shorter, but it was so thick there was no possibility of it laying flat. Giving up on it, he went back into the bedroom and jumped on Tom's bed.

"Wake up sleepyhead! Wake up! We're leaving today! No Dursleys for nine months and learning about magic. Wake up!"

Tom groaned and shoved at Harry. "Go 'way, Harry. 'M sleeping."

Harry grabbed his pillow and promptly hit Tom about the head with it, laughing.

"Alright, that's it!" Tom came awake and counter-attacked with his own pillow. Sid and Khepri took cover in the study to avoid stray shots. Eventually the pillow fight wound down. Tom went to get a shower while Harry climbed up the stairs and went into the house kitchen to start breakfast.

Once Harry had breakfast prepared and all set out, he looked over at the clock and frowned. They would have to leave by 9:30 to get to the station with enough time to get on the train, and it was already 8:45. Leaving the kitchen, Harry crept quietly up the stairs and listened at the closed doors for sounds of movement. Hearing nothing, Harry knocked quietly upon the door. With another frown, Harry went to the window and looked down onto the driveway. He felt his stomach drop.

Where the Dursleys' car should be, there was nothing. The Dursleys had snuck out during the night and left the twins with no way to get to London.

Harry plodded back down the stairs, meeting Tom as he came out of the cupboard.

"What's wrong, Harry?"

"Nothing, really. Come have breakfast, there's plenty for all of us." Harry stuck his head back in the cupboard and hollered for Sid and Khepri to come join them.

_"Breakfast upstairs, boss? What's going on?"_

After they had all settled at the table with plates, Harry answered_, "_Well, it appears that the Dursleys left during the night so that they would not have to give us a ride to the station."

"Harry! How can you say that nothing's the matter? We can't get to Hogwarts!"Tom looked on the verge of tears.

"Relax, Tom. We can catch the Knight Bus after breakfast. Probably should have done that to begin with."

"If I may…" Khepri interjected, "I can get us there."

"Really, Khepri? How?" Tom asked his familiar.

"It is one of the abilities of the phoenix to travel through flame and transport others with them. I can even transport the trunks, as long as you are touching them."

"That's brilliant, Khepri! Thanks. The Knight Bus is a little unsettling." Tom said enthusiastically.

Once everyone had eaten as much as they wanted, Harry and Tom got the kitchen all cleaned up and changed into their new clothes. They were wearing pretty much exactly what they wore out of the shop, with the addition of their wand holsters. Tom carried his in his right boot, and Harry had opted to carry his in his left boot. They pulled Harry's trunk into the living room and got Tom's trunk out of it. Khepri perched on Tom's left shoulder, and Sid was on Harry's right shoulder, as far from the phoenix as possible. Harry clasped Tom's shoulder with his left hand, and Harry and Tom each had a hand on their trunks. Once they were all situated to Khepri's satisfaction, she spread her wings and gave a trill of song and burst into flames, taking all of them with her.

They appeared again with a fireball-like explosion, with Khepri's song echoing around them. A gust of displaced air swirled around them, tossing the twins' hair and making their open robes billow out behind them. It also caught Sid under the wings, forcing them out and lifting him slightly off Harry's shoulder. Sid hissed his displeasure at Khepri. Taken all together, it was a very impressive entrance, the likes of which no one on Platform 9 ¾ had ever seen before. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the small group that had appeared.

Harry, seeing this, grumbled, "Nice, Khepri, Sid. Make a bigger spectacle of us. Let's get on the train, Tom." He hustled Tom onto the train and away from the stares, leaving behind the gossip that had sprung up. Harry was just thankful that the Platform wasn't completely packed yet; they had arrived half an hour early.

The twins snagged the compartment at the end of the train. They pulled out a couple books before putting their trunks into the luggage rack; they were planning to try some spells during the trip. Then they settled down at the window to watch the people on the Platform.

The crowd was well worth watching. There were families saying good bye, parents catching children as they tried to run off to join friends, the reunions of friends, animals all over the place making all sorts of noise. They sniggered as they saw a toad sneakily hop away from a round-faced boy being inspected by an older woman with a vulture on her hat. A bushy-haired girl was lecturing her indulgent parents. A set of red-headed twins was standing with a black boy with dreadlocks, showing something in a box to a group of girls, making them scream.

Against the wall of the platform, there was a wrought-iron archway with the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it. Next to the archway was a bank of large fireplaces. The twins were amazed as they watched green flames constantly spitting out families and luggage. This must be the Floo that Flitwick had told them about. Another section was cordoned off where people would just pop into existence; apparition.

As eleven o'clock got closer, the platform became much busier. Parents started hustling their children onto the train, saying their final farewells, final warnings to behave or to write often. At five minutes to eleven, a red-haired woman rushed through the archway with a gangly boy and young girl, both also with red hair. She glanced around fretfully before zeroing in on the twins Harry and Tom had noticed earlier. As she reached them, an older red-haired boy joined them. They were obviously related. The mother quickly hugged all her children and wiped futilely at some dirt on the youngest boy's nose. She then pushed them onto the train just as the whistle sounded and the train pulled away from the platform. Harry and Tom settled down to their books.

* * *

The Weasley family arrived at King's Cross Station at about 10:45. Molly wasn't able to stop Percy and the twins from going through the barrier, but Ron and Ginny were still with her. Molly was looking all around for the Potter twins, but so far hadn't seen them anywhere. Her children were starting to get restless. They didn't understand why they hadn't just Flooed to the station like they usually did.

It was imperative that Ron meet Harry and Tom. Professor Dumbledore was waiving the school fees for Ron and Ginny if they could befriend the twins. Even though she doubted that Ron would fail to befriend them, she had placed a compulsion on him ensuring that he would. Once they were friends, she would remove it.

However, it wouldn't work if they never met. The Potter boys were supposed to be coming through the Muggle part of the station, and they hadn't been informed how to get through the barrier. Professor Dumbledore had even given her a suggested script to make sure that the boys noticed her and her family.

At five to eleven, though, Molly had to give up. She rushed Ron and Ginny through the barrier, located the rest of her brood, and wished them all a safe journey and a good year, with a little extra threat for the twins to be good, and then she was standing with Ginny waving as the train pulled away from the platform. She took Ginny's arm and apparated them home, where Molly immediately sent an owl to Professor Dumbledore.

* * *

As the train pulled away from the station and Harry and Tom became engrossed in their texts, some students were still walking the length of the train trying to find a seat. Since the twins were in the very last compartment, nobody had passed by looking for a seat in their compartment. Until, that is, a blonde boy opened up the door and looked inside.

Draco Malfoy had been looking for his friends, but when he opened the door to the last compartment and saw who was in there, he felt that he could not pass up this incredibly lucky occurrence. His father had encouraged him to get to know the brothers that they had seen in Ollivander's shop. Father had not known who they were, but they were obviously very important and powerful. They were also courteous enough to allow them to go ahead of them. Father did not know anyone who had a wand made just for them.

The taller one was probably a fourth or fifth year, while the smaller one was most likely a first year. The wand was probably made for him, since the older one would already have his wand. They had weirdly matching eyes and black hair, though the older one's hair was longer than his younger brother. Gathering up his courage, Draco stepped confidently into the compartment. Looking at the brothers, he almost swallowed his tongue when he saw a phoenix and an occamy also in the compartment.

"Err, hello. Do you mind if I sit here?" Draco asked, a bit less confidently than he had hoped.

The older one looked up, and Draco found himself a little unnerved by the mismatched eyes.

"Sure, have a seat," Harry replied. "Do you need any help with your trunk?"

"Yes, please," Draco replied, slightly surprised at the offer. It did fit with their courteousness at Ollivander's, however. Harry stood up and helped Draco get the featherlight, yet awkwardly large trunk into the luggage rack once Draco pulled out a deck of cards and a book. Draco set the cage with his eagle owl on the seat beside him. Draco probably wouldn't have bothered with a book, but the two brothers had books out and he wanted to make a good impression on them.

"My name is Draco Malfoy. This is my owl Ra. I believe I saw you in Ollivander's. It was very kind of you to let me get my wand before you."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Harry Potter and this is my brother Tom. The occamy is my familiar Sid, and the phoenix is Tom's familiar Khepri. You're a first year like us, right?" Harry smiled at Draco, while Tom waved.

Draco just managed to keep his composure, but it was a close call. First was the realization that there was a first year that tall. Then was the fact that he was sitting in a compartment with the famous, and famously elusive, Potter twins. No one knew where they had been for the last ten years, and he had run across them completely by accident in Ollivander's and now on the train. He wasn't entirely sure how his father would feel about him being friends with the twins that had ended the reign of the Dark Lord; he would send his father a message that night. Until he heard back, he would cultivate a friendship with them.

"Yes, that's right. I expect to be sorted into Slytherin House, that's where all my family has been. Do you have any expectations for what house you will be in?"

"No clue whatsoever." Harry gave a lopsided grin.

"Well, no one really knows for sure, do they? Not until we're sorted by the Hat." Draco gave a slightly painful smile; he was much more used to smirks than smiles.

"A Hat?" Tom finally spoke up. "I couldn't find anything about how we get sorted into the different Houses. How does it work?"

"My father told me how it works; he didn't want anyone trying to scare me with rumors. There's a hat that used to belong to Godric Gryffindor; it's been transfigured so that it's alive and speaks. You put the hat on and it goes through your memories, you have a conversation with it, and it decides where you belong."

"Interesting. I guess they don't tell people to preserve the mystery of it all. What's more fun than going off to a new school and not having a clue what's going to happen." Harry said with a sardonic smile.

"Exactly," Draco replied with a smirk. "It really makes the Mudbloods sweat."

The twins and their familiars froze, staring at Draco. Draco started to feel very nervous: those matching mismatched eyes, the golden eyes of the phoenix, and the almost black eyes of the occamy were all trained on him, and they did not look friendly.

"Excuse me?" Harry said with an arctic chill in his voice. "We might not have grown up knowing about the wizarding world, but we did read about the vendetta of Voldemort." Draco flinched at the name. "I will not abide any slurs like that. Our parents died fighting prejudices based on blood. If that is how you feel you can go ahead and leave now."

Draco looked shocked. "I apologize. I didn't even think…it won't happen again."

Harry smiled quickly. "No permanent harm. I read that pureblood families are raised thinking that way. Just remember that we don't want to hear it, and we'll be fine."

Draco was relieved. He couldn't believe he had made such a mistake; he needed to remember to think before speaking. The Potter twins could be an incredible ally; he didn't want to offend them.

The conversation moved on to school-related topics, including an in-depth description of the game Qudditch, Tom taking part more the longer they talked. Draco gave Harry and Tom a good laugh when he sheepishly admitted how old he had thought Harry to be. Their books lay forgotten until Harry mentioned wanting to try some spells. The first spell they started working on was the _Accio_ spell from Tom's book. Draco knew the spell wasn't part of the first-year curriculum, but he agreed that it was indeed a very useful spell to know. He kept his doubts about the twins being able to wandlessly _accio_ their wands from their holsters to himself. After all, if anyone could master wandless spells before school even started, it should be the Potter twins. Harry and Tom, on the other hand, didn't know that wandless casting was supposed to be very difficult. After all, what would you do if you didn't know that you couldn't do it?

Harry was the first to master the spell using his wand; he successfully _accio_'d a very annoyed Sid into his arms, to everyone else's amusement. Sid was not amused at his new way to fly. Once he had the feel of the spell using the wand, he quickly managed to summon his wand from his boot. He discovered that he couldn't summon objects from much further than that without his wand, but he was happy with what he had achieved.

Tom got it next; he summoned his book from across the compartment. He could not, however, get his wand to jump into his hand like Harry could.

Draco could barely get his pack of cards to shift when he tried to summon it. He gracefully suggested a game of Exploding Snap when he and Tom started to get frustrated.

Forgetting all dignity, the boys sat down on the floor of the compartment and Draco taught Harry and Tom how to play. They were having a wonderful time; when the trolley came round, they got a small pile of junk food each. They then traded with each other so that everyone got some of everything.

They were only half an hour from the Hogsmeade Station when the round-faced boy that Harry and Tom had seen on the platform knocked on their door and peered in. He was already wearing his school robes, and he looked like he was about to start crying.

"Excuse me, but have any of you seen a toad?" he inquired quietly.

Draco sneered and was about to let loose a scathing comment, but Tom beat him to it by immediately standing up and going to the boy.

"I'm sorry, we haven't seen any toads. What does it look like?" Tom was leading the boy over to sit on the seat as he spoke. The poor boy looked like he had searched the whole train, which he probably had since theirs was the last car.

"Well, he's muddy brown with dark green spots and brownish-gold eyes. His name is Trevor."

**"Harry, why don't you step outside and see if you can **_**accio**_** the toad to find it?"**

With a quick nod, to Draco's slight bewilderment, Harry stood up and stepped out the door into the hallway, quietly summoning his wand into his hand as he went. A moment later he came back in with a toad struggling in his grasp.

"Is this your toad?" he asked as he offered the squirming creature to the boy.

"Trevor! Thank you so much! How did you find him so quickly?"

Harry shifted uneasily at the effusive thanks. "I just _accio_'d him. Lucky it worked."

The round-faced boy beamed up at Harry. "Well, I should get on back to my compartment. Thank you so much for helping me."

"You can stay here if you like." Tom quickly interjected. He didn't think the boy had been sitting with friends, since he was searching by himself, and he thought the boy could use a few good friends. "I'm Tom Potter, that's my brother Harry, and this is Draco Malfoy." Harry and Draco murmured their hellos to the boy. Tom gestured towards the familiars, saying, "This is Khepri and Sid, and that's Ra."

"My name's Neville Longbottom," the boy replied, smiling happily around. Tom was right that Neville hadn't been sitting with any friends; in fact, Neville had been widely ignored by the others in his compartment. They didn't even notice him leave. Neville was thrilled to be invited to stay and spend time with people his own age. He was rather surprised that he had stumbled upon the Potter twins, but growing up with his Gran had taught him a modicum of decorum, so he was able to hide his surprise. He wasn't excited at the prospect of spending time with a Malfoy, but anything was better than being ignored. The occamy was a little frightening, and the phoenix amazing; even Draco's owl was regal. It was probably the most interesting group on the train, and he was invited to join it.

They made sure to shut the door firmly before releasing Trevor, and then Neville joined in the game of Exploding Snap.

* * *

As they pulled into Hogsmeade Station, the twins and Draco quickly finished pulling on their school robes. The twins were thankful that the school robes were open, so they wouldn't have any trouble getting to their wands. They were thinking that they would have to visit Ollivander's again at some point to see what other options would work for carrying their long wands.

Leaving their luggage on the train, the four boys disembarked. Sid was unobtrusively sitting on Harry's shoulder, simultaneously wrapped around Harry's arm and hiding in his hair. Khepri sat proudly on Tom's shoulder, looking regally around at the amazed stares she received. Neville had Trevor in his pocket (Tom had found a useful charm to keep the toad in the pocket), and Draco had let Ra fly on up to the owlery. They followed a bellowing voice over to a huge man surrounded by tiny first years. Harry was by far the tallest; the only one that came close was a red-headed boy that probably came up to Harry's chin.

Following the unnamed man, the boys carefully navigated the slippery trail. Rounding a bend in the path, they stopped in awe at the sight of Hogwarts Castle perched high atop a mountain, a black lake between them. It was lit up at every window, with turrets and towers spiking upwards all over it. The twins looked at each other, not needing to speak at all to know how excited the other was at the prospect of seven years of school there.

Harry, Tom, Draco, and Neville climbed into one boat together. Once all the boats were filled, the little fleet glided forward across the lake. The boys continued to stare at the castle as the boats drew closer and closer. They almost didn't hear the giant's warning to duck; luckily Sid was paying attention and hissed at them. They passed through the hanging ivy, then down a dark tunnel to an underground harbor.

Once all the first years were out of the boats, they went up a passageway in the rock, finally coming out on the lawn in front of the castle. With one last check that everyone was there, the giant raised a fist and knocked three times on the castle door.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Sorting

The castle doors creaked open like something out of a B-movie horror flick. A tall woman wearing a pointed hat stood silhouetted in the light streaming past her. The giant proudly told her that these were the first years. With a nod, the woman, identified as Professor McGonagall, ushered the group of children into the entrance hall. As they came into the light, they could see that she looked very stern, with her hair pulled tightly back into a bun.

The professor led the group into a room off the entrance hall. She gave them a short speech about the house system at Hogwarts. Most of the first years were split between listening to the professor and staring at Khepri. Most of the muggle-borns had no clue what Khepri was, and many of the purebloods had never seen one in person. They could also tell that the very tall kid had something on his shoulder, but couldn't see what it was since it seemed to be hiding in his hair. The professor ended her speech by recommending they straighten themselves up before the Sorting before leaving them alone.

After she left, a dark-haired girl with a face that resembled a pug came rushing up to Draco.

"Draco, where have you been? We were supposed to meet on the train," she pouted.

Draco sighed softly. "I met some new people, Pansy, and wanted to get to know them better."

Pansy turned an appraising eye on Harry and Tom. Deciding that she liked the look of Harry, she purred, "Draco, won't you introduce us?" She batted her eyelashes up at Harry.

Draco rolled his eyes. Could the girl be any more transparent? Using the formal form of introduction that he knew Pansy liked, but hardly anyone used at their age, Draco gently took Pansy's left hand with his right and turned to the twins.

"Harry, Tom, may I present Miss Pansy Sinnie Parkinson, daughter of Paxton Raleigh Parkinson and Violet Goldevia Parkinson, nee Viridian. Pansy, may I present Harry James Potter and Tom Evan Potter, sons of James Darnell Potter and Lily Rowan Potter, nee Evans." Pansy's eyes widened slightly when she heard their names, but like Draco she was too well versed in etiquette to show surprise. She held out her right hand, palm down.

Tom awkwardly shook her hand with a shy hello. Harry mentally tutted at him. **"You should have listened when I told you about the etiquette. Step aside and let me show you how it's done."**

Harry stepped smoothly in front of Pansy and gently grasped her fingertips. He brought his heels together with a click, and then bowed over Pansy's hand. He brushed a soft kiss over the back of her hand before straightening again. "Truly, Miss Parkinson, it is a pleasure to meet such a lovely young lady as yourself."

Pansy blushed prettily and curtseyed, Harry and Draco still holding her hands. "The pleasure indeed is mutual, kind sir." After she rose again, Harry released her hand. Draco was impressed that Harry knew the proper greeting. He would not have thought he would, given his upbringing. Draco turned Pansy towards Neville; he didn't really care if he got to know the timid boy better, but it was poor manners not to introduce him, as he was part of their current group. Before he could begin the ritualistic words, however, a tall red-haired boy pushed his way into their group.

"Is it true? Are you really the Potter twins?" His eyes darted quickly from one twin's face to the other. "My name is Ron Weasley." He shoved his hand forward, aiming to grab Tom's. Harry was a little leery of his aggressive friendliness, though, and moved swiftly to intercept Ron. The boy enthusiastically pumped Harry's hand, staring avidly at his forehead.

"What are you staring at?" Harry inquired with forced politeness.

"I want to see your scar," the clueless Weasley answered.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours," Harry sneered; he then pointedly turned his back on Ron, making sure to keep Tom away from him. It was true that the twins' scars were barely noticeable. They were pale and extremely thin, barely as wide as a needle. Harry's stood out more than Tom's due to his tan, but their hair almost completely obscured any sight of the legendary scars.

The lanky boy's face started to turn red in response to the slight, but before he could say anything several people screamed. A cadre of ghosts had floated through the far wall, so engrossed in conversation they didn't even see the frightened first years. Harry took advantage of the distraction to guide Tom and the rest of their group further away from the antagonistic redhead. On their way to the other side of the room, however, they were blocked by the bushy-haired girl the twins had seen lecturing her parents at the station.

"Are you really the Potter twins? I've read all about you in _Modern Magical History_, _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts,_ and _Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century_. I'm Hermione Granger." The girl said all of this in about one breath before holding her hand out. Tom reached forward and shook her hand, thankful that no fancy manners were needed here.

"I'm Tom, this is Harry. It's nice to meet you, Hermione."

Before anymore could be said, Professor McGonagall came back and had everyone line up to walk into the Great Hall together. As they walked down the aisle to the front of the Hall, all the other students stared and whispered. Many people were pointing at Khepri, and the few people who had seen the twins' entrance at the platform were spreading the story about, which led to people trying to get a better look at Sid on Harry's shoulder.

The first years came to a ragged stop and waited while McGonagall brought out a stool, upon which she placed a very old, patched, and faded hat. Most of them were quite startled when a gap near the top of the hat opened up and the hat began to sing a song, telling them all about the different Hogwarts houses.

When it was done, the Hat bowed to all four tables before becoming immobile once more. Professor McGonagall stepped forward with a list and began calling people forward to try on the Hat and be sorted. Some kids took longer to sort than others. The Hat sat on Neville's head nearly five minutes before declaring him a Gryffindor, but barely even touched Draco's head before yelling out Slytherin. Hermione Granger ended up in Gryffindor, instead of Ravenclaw as Harry had expected, and Pansy Parkinson joined Draco in Slytherin. Harry narrowed his eyes at the Hat when it separated another pair of twins, Patil and Patil.

Finally, Professor McGonagall called for Potter, Harry. As Harry walked to the stool, he heard the increased whispers from the student population and saw them standing up and craning their necks to get a better view of him. Harry snorted; he was going to be here seven years, did they have to memorize his physical appearance in the first five minutes?

"Hmmm. Difficult. Very difficult. Probably because you need to let down your bloody shields so I can get a look in your head! And the occamy has got to get out from under me. One mind at a time, not _two!"_

"Sheesh, alright already. I didn't know I had my shields up. _Sid, you have to pop your head out from under the annoying hat. Apparently it isn't skilled enough to block out your mind and just look in mine, the great ponce."_

Sid snickered at Harry's comments, then gracefully untangled himself from Harry's head and pulled his head from under the Hat. Harry heard the gasps and even a few screams when Sid popped out. He even thought he heard someone running away from him. Then, oddly, there was rather a lot of laughter.

"Well, now that we are _alone_ let me take a look at you. Hmmm, you have a pretty good mix of the different House traits. The loyalty of a Hufflepuff, but only for your twin. The work ethic of a 'puff, but only to survive. The wit and learning of a Ravenclaw, my yes, but you don't seek knowledge for knowledge's sake, but for where it will take you, quite practical. Gryffindor bravery and nerves, but again only to protect your brother and yourself. Cunning and ambition are definitely there for Slytherin. But where shall I put you?"

"I don't bloody care where you put me; you just better put my brother in with me. Don't you dare try to split us up like those Patil girls."

"My, my, a bit testy, aren't we? Better make it SLYTHERIN!"

There was a moment of shocked silence in the hall, and then the Slytherin table broke into thunderous applause. Draco waved Harry over to sit next to him and looked smugly around at all the jealous faces. When Harry got settled, he looked up to watch his brother's sorting. However, McGonagall seemed to have disappeared.

"_You should have seen it, boss," _Sid was shaking with laughter on his shoulder. _"When that stupid hat made me get out, I caused quite a reaction. The best, however, was the stern lady with the list. She screamed, vaulted over the staff table, and ran out the door right behind the old geezer in the middle. I think she's the twirl I delivered your letter to. Didn't like me then, either."_

Harry took advantage of the wait to warn Tom that he would have to let down his shields for the Hat to read him, and to make sure that Khepri didn't end up under the hat with him.

The Great Hall was in a bit of an uproar with the continued absence of Professor McGonagall. One of the older Slytherins told the first years that the medi-witch, Madam Pomfrey, had gone after her. About ten minutes later, she finally managed to convince the Professor to come back and resume the sorting. Everyone noticed a slight wobble in her walk and slur in her voice when she called for Potter, Tom.

As Tom took his seat, Khepri took to the air, flying around Tom. She began to sing as the Hat settled over Tom's eyes, filling the Hall with a sense of peace and well-being, and soothing McGonagall's nerves considerably more than her flask had.

"Well, well, it's the other one. Let's take a look, shall we?...Merlin's saggy balls!"

"What is it? Is something wrong?" Tom was panicking slightly; he figured it could never be good for someone examining your mind to start swearing. **"Harry!"**

"Oh, nothing, nothing, nothing at all. You are an unexpected riddle, Tom, hehe. And Harry can't hear you; I block all that sort of thing. Where shall I put you? You are much like Harry, or at least you try to be. Loyalty and work ethic very similar, a bit more interested in learning, it helps that you have a goal I think, quiet bravery and nerve, not quite as cunning or ambitious. Where shall I put you?"

"Please just put me in Slytherin. Let me stay with Harry," Tom pleaded.

"Slytherin? My goodness, no, I could never in good conscience put you there."

"What! You have to let me!"

"No, no, you will do quite well in GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor table exploded into cheers. The sound wave actually managed to knock a few Hufflepuffs out of their seats. This is what everyone expected, the hero in Gryffindor. Tom sat frozen for a moment before making his way to their table, looking longingly over at the seat next to Harry. As soon as he was within arm's reach, the redheaded twins grabbed his hands, pulling him forward and shaking hands so vigorously his head rattled. Tom sat down just to keep from falling down, and Khepri settled again on his shoulder. Many Gryffindors made their way over to say hello to him.

Draco was watching Harry apprehensively. He had a look of shock when his twin was sorted to a different house, but it was slowly giving way to a rage stronger than any that Draco had ever seen. It seemed to be focused on the Sorting Hat. A storm cloud was growing in the sky ceiling right above Harry. Draco casually moved away from him to be out of the line of fire. Apparently the final straw was the Weasley twins' manhandling of Tom. Harry struck the table with his fist hard enough to crack it, Draco would swear that sparks flew from his eyes, and an actual bolt of lightning flashed from the storm cloud directly at the Sorting Hat.

Professor Dumbledore was up faster than the eye could follow, whipping his wand out in a practiced motion. Before the lightning could hit the Hat that was screaming and cringing on its stool, it hit an invisible shield and crackled around the dome shape, the blue flickering beautifully before disappearing. The Hat started sobbing, and the entire Hall fell completely silent. With a look from Dumbledore, McGonagall took the Sorting Hat away to a dark room to calm down. Then Dumbledore turned his gaze upon the silent teenagers.

"**Harry, please tell me that wasn't you."** Tom sought Harry's eyes, pleading for him to not be the cause of the lightning.

"**I…I didn't mean to. I was just so angry, I told the Hat not to separate us. How can I protect you if I'm not with you?"** Harry had an anguished look in his eyes as he met Tom's eyes.

"**I think we'll be ok here, Harry. Khepri will be with me, and you won't be far away."**

"**I guess I know that, but do you really expect me to give up ten years of habit just like that?"** Harry quirked a tiny smile, hoping for Tom's forgiveness.

Tom rolled his eyes and smiled at Harry, making Harry's smile turn into a real one.

Draco watched the byplay carefully, it happened very quickly, but there was obviously some sort of communication between the twins.

"Students will please retain control of their magic. Any more unrestrained magical outbursts will be severely dealt with." Professor Dumbledore looked sternly around the Hall, lingering slightly on Harry. "We will continue the Sorting once the Sorting Hat has recovered from this attack." Dumbledore waved his wand, conjuring a table and chairs. "The Unsorted first years may sit at this table, and we shall go ahead and enjoy the feast." Dumbledore clapped his hands, and suddenly the tables were filled with food.

The unsorted first years glumly sat at their table and began eating, dreading having to wait even longer to find out where they would end up. The other four tables slowly started talking, the volume increasing gradually. It was the most interesting Sorting anyone could ever remember at Hogwarts.

After everyone finished eating, the Sorting Hat was brought back out. It seemed to have enjoyed quite a bit of McGonagall's flask, and was a bit sleepy, but it finally managed to get everyone where they belonged. Then Dumbledore gave the start of term announcements and sent everyone off to bed.

Harry made his way over to Tom before leaving the Hall.

"Are you sure you'll be all right, Tom?"

"Of course I will, Harry. Don't worry so much."

Harry scowled. "You better take care of him, Khepri. If anything goes wrong, don't wait for him to tell you what to do, you bring him straight to me."

Khepri clicked her beak irritably at him. "I will not allow anything to happen to my human, twin. I do not require instructions from _you_."

Sid hissed at the bird. _"Shut it, bird. Do hatchlings not look out for one another in your 'great culture'?"_ Harry laid a soothing hand on Sid's head feathers.

"You just worry about yourself, Harry. I heard some stuff about Slytherins during dinner, and you definitely want to keep your guard up."

"Heh. Don't worry, little brother, no one's going to mess with me."

With a final hug and a ruffle of Tom's hair, Harry followed the Slytherins down into the dungeons as Tom climbed the stairs.

Tom followed the Gryffindor prefect, one of the Weasleys, up to the seventh floor and stopped in front of a painting of a fat lady wearing pink. After giving the password (caput draconis), the painting opened up into a Common Room area.

Tom was directed up the stairs on the left to the boys' dormitories, and found his trunk at the foot of a bed. Tom quickly got dressed for bed and climbed under the covers, closing the drapes around his bed, and thought about everything that had happened that day.

Clearly his brother was a very powerful wizard. That lightning was no joke. Once everyone had settled down, he found himself liking the Gryffindors. They were very open and loud. He got to know Neville a bit better, and the Weasley twins were hilarious. The only other first year boy at the table at the time was Seamus Finnigan, an Irish boy with an excellent sense of humor. The three first year girls were joined by a few more. Tom talked to Hermione a little bit, but her intensity was a little frightening. A lot of people wanted to meet Khepri, who graciously allowed them to pet her and tell her how gorgeous she is. She even sang a little bit more for them.

The other Gryffindors also seemed very excited to have him in their house. It was a little unnerving, but way better than being ignored and unwanted, like at the Dursleys. When the rest of the first years got sorted, they got two more boys, Dean Thomas and Ron Weasley, the redhead that Harry protected him from earlier. Luckily, the seats around Tom were already taken, so he couldn't sit next to him. All he could do was stare creepily. Tom managed to keep the rest of the Gryffindors between him and the odd boy on the way up to the tower, and was in bed before he made it to the dormitory.

Thinking happily about what tomorrow would bring, Tom drifted off to sleep, with Khepri asleep on his headboard.

Preoccupied with thoughts of Tom's safety, Harry mechanically followed the Slytherin prefect, Draco beside him. When they had reached a bit of bare stone wall completely unrecognizable from any other bit of wall, the prefect stopped, gave the password (lacum serpens), and led them inside. They were told to take a seat around the fireplace on the floor. The rest of the house settled behind them, on the floor or furniture or just standing against a wall. Harry barely had time to wonder what they were all doing, when one of the teachers swept into the Common Room.

The professor came to a stop in front of the fireplace and looked over the teenagers looking attentively back at him. "Welcome to another year in Slytherin House. I am Professor Snape, your Head of House. As a reminder to the returning students, and so the first years know, we are Slytherin, and the other Houses revile us. The other professors will turn a blind eye to what the other houses do, and will come down hard on any wrong-doing they catch you in. Slytherins look out for each other. Never go anywhere alone, one alone is a target. If you have problems with a fellow housemate, keep it in house. We present a united front to the rest of the school. If any one Slytherin is attacked, we are all attacked. If you have any problems with any person in this school, student or teacher, Slytherin or other, you may always come to me. Now, tomorrow is Monday, classes will be starting. Everyone get a good night's rest." With a last look at his charges, Snape swept out of the room.

The prefects took their cue to chivvy all the students down the stairs to the dormitories, boys to the right, and girls to the left. Harry found his trunk at the foot of the bed closest to the door. He joined the rest of his dorm mates getting ready for bed, and with a general good night to the room, closed the curtains around his bed. He folded his long legs into position and sat against the footboard. Sid took full advantage of the bed, completely uncoiled and wings unfurled.

Harry contemplated whether or not he would ever be able to sleep lying down, then his thoughts drifted back to the feast. He really did feel bad about that whole lightning bolt attack thing. He just couldn't help but worry about his brother. Tom was always so quiet, and he was so small. At least he seemed to be getting along with the Longbottom boy.

The Slytherins were an interesting lot. They were clearly curious about Sid, but none of them were willing to show it. Only the ones seated around him met the occamy. Most of the Slytherin first years had been sorted before Harry's attack; Draco said only Blaise Zabini was left, and he was right. Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle bore a striking resemblance to Dudley and his friends. Their communication was mostly grunts, and they seemed to function as bodyguards for Draco. Theodore Nott was rather weedy looking, and quiet. He seemed much more of an observer than a joiner. Besides Pansy, there were five other girls in the first year Slytherin group. Millicent was practically the female version of Vince and Greg, while Daphne was willowy with clear pale skin and long dark brown hair.

Harry felt certain that he and Sid would fit in well with the Snake House. None of them had realized he was a Parselmouth yet, but he didn't expect any Slytherins to have a problem with it. Professor Snape seemed like a good ally to his students, and if the rest of the school didn't like him, well, it would be just like at the Dursleys. Harry fell asleep dreaming of what tomorrow would bring.

In the Slytherin girls' dormitory, the first years were squealing excitedly about being in Hogwarts and all the cute boys. Pansy had made a list of all the boys in Slytherin and Ravenclaw, the only other acceptable House from which to date, by year.

The girls were happily going through it, rating the ones that they had already seen, and leaving the other ones blank. It was widely acknowledged that the first year Slytherin boys were definitely a good year for Slytherin. Crabbe and Goyle were nothing worth looking at, and Nott wasn't exceptional in any way, but the other three boys were 'delicious', in Pansy's words.

The girls were arguing over which of the three was the cutest, the dark skinned Blaise, the blonde Draco, or the unknown mysterious Harry. Pansy had told all the girls about her introduction to him and how polite and sweet he was. The other girls could tell Pansy had a crush growing on the famous boy, and since she did have first contact, it was decided that she got first dibs on her.

When they had finished going over all the boys, the girls turned to the important decision of what they should wear the next day. They talked well into the night about what tomorrow would bring.

Professor Dumbledore sat in darkness behind his desk, Fawkes on the arm of his chair. He absently petted the phoenix while considering the events of the day. Harry, at least, was a very strong wizard. He would certainly be able to rival Voldemort, and possibly even Dumbledore himself when he was trained. This made it very disturbing that he was in Slytherin House.

At least Tom was in Gryffindor. Hopefully his brother would be able to keep Harry firmly on the Light side. He had altered the compulsion charm that Molly had put on young Ronald so that he would only be compelled to make friends with Tom. Dumbledore was counting on Tom bringing Ron to Harry for that friendship; it would look odd for a Gryffindor to be actively trying to make friends with a Slytherin, even if that Slytherin was Harry Potter. He had sent an owl to Molly after the feast telling her about the change, and assuring her that he did not blame her for missing the twins at the station.

As promised by Flitwick, Harry had an occamy with him. Dumbledore knew that Harry was a Parselmouth, and wondered how he could use the knowledge to his advantage. It was a beautiful specimen, actually quite like the one that Professor Kettleburn had last year for Care of Magical Creatures. It was such a dark green it was almost black, with black eyes and black feathers.

It was remarkable that Tom had managed to attract a phoenix familiar at such a young age, but it spoke well of his future allegiance. Dumbledore did not expect to have any problems controlling the younger twin. Harry, however, would require careful manipulation. He would have to think hard about how best to proceed.

Augusta Longbottom sat stiffly upright across the table from her brother Algie, a chess set between them. She was reading a letter from Neville while she waited for Algie to take his turn.

_ Dear Gran,_

_ I made it into Gryffindor! I know you worried that I wouldn't, but I did! _

_ I lost Trevor again on the train on the way to school, but I got some help finding him. You won't believe who helped me. Harry and Tom Potter! And then they invited me to stay with them in their compartment. Draco Malfoy was there as well, but he was actually nice today. Malfoy has an eagle owl, but Harry and Tom's familiars are way better. Harry has an occamy named Sid and Tom has a phoenix named Khepri!_

_ Harry and Draco got sorted into Slytherin, but Tom is in Gryffindor with me and I think we might actually become good friends. Classes start tomorrow, so I'll say good night and get to bed. _

_ Hope you are well,_

_ Neville_

It was certainly a promising start for her clumsy grandson. The Potters were good people and Augusta was sure that if things had been different, the Potter twins and Neville would have grown up together. After all, their birthdays were only a day apart. And while she did not approve of the Malfoy family, at least their boy had finally learned some manners if he wasn't teasing her grandson anymore.

The other boys did have very impressive animals. Augusta sent an unnoticed glare at her brother. If he had not taken it upon himself to get Neville a toad, of all things, she could have gotten the boy a respectable creature, at the very least an owl so he didn't have to use the school owls.

Hopefully, having a friend or two would help her hapless grandson to gain a little confidence. His father was such a strong willed, charismatic boy; it was a shame Neville couldn't be more like him. It would certainly be interesting hearing how the year progressed.

With a start, Augusta realized that Algie had taken his turn and was now waiting on her. She leaned forward and examined the board.

Lucius Malfoy sat in his favorite wing backed chair staring into a crackling fire, a glass of fire whiskey in one hand, his son's letter dangling from the other. It was hard to believe that those two boys were actually twins, the Potter twins at that. His son had done well in befriending them.

If the two brothers hadn't taken over as the most interesting students at Hogwarts, he had planned to tell Draco to befriend the Potter twins if at all possible. Now he got everything he wanted. His son had the beginnings of a friendship with the most powerful, influential teenagers at Hogwarts. And of course, his boy had followed in his footsteps by getting into Slytherin. Surprisingly, the older twin-Harry-was in Slytherin with him.

The phoenix and occamy were an interesting twist. The only other known phoenix familiar was Dumbledore's phoenix Fawkes, and there were no other known occamy familiars. Lucius wondered how the twins had gotten so lucky.

Draco told him about Harry's wand, apparently his was the special order. It had metal wrapped around it, which Lucius did not recall ever seeing on a wand that was in use. He had seen a few ancient wands incorporate metal, but it seemed to have fallen out of style of late, or something. With a frown, Lucius resolved to find out exactly why metal was no longer used often.

He would send his son a letter telling him to keep up this friendship, and assuring him that he did the right thing. His son responded well to praise.

With a glance at the clock, Lucius finished his glass of fire whiskey and stood up. Narcissa would be expecting him to come to bed and share the news from their son's letter. It would be interesting to see how the rest of the year played out.


End file.
